4-day traffic plan in place for New Year celebrations

Patna: Patna: With New Year celebrations expected to draw massive crowds around Gandhi Maidan, Patna traffic police on Wednesday announced four-day traffic and parking plan, effective January 1–4, 2026. The strategy includes diversions for autos and e-rickshaws, restrictions on key roads, and designated parking zones to ease congestion and ensure smooth vehicular movement across the city.Commercial vehicles such as autos and e-rickshaws will be banned in the vicinity of Gandhi Maidan. Those coming from Danapur to Rajapur Pul will be diverted back to Danapur from Police Line Tiraha. Similarly, autos and e-rickshaws approaching from Gaighat on Ashoka Rajpath will be turned around at Kargil Chowk near the western end of the Double-Decker flyover and sent back towards Gaighat.Movement restrictions extend to several key roads. Auto-rickshaws will not be permitted from Bhattacharya Square towards North Gandhi Maidan on Exhibition Road, while those heading from SP Verma Road can only go up to Swaminandan Tiraha before returning via Bata Mor. Movements are prohibited on stretches such as Budh Marg/Chhajjubag to TN Banerjee Path, from Kotwali Tiraha to Police Line Tiraha on Buddha Marg, and on Bank Road starting from Police Line Gate Number 1.

On Baripath, vehicles can operate only between Machhua Toli and Thakurbari turn, returning the same way, with no access allowed towards Gandhi Maidan or Bakarganj, as per the traffic plan released on Wednesday.In case of heavy congestion on Bailey Road, autos and e-rickshaws will be stopped east of Dumra Chowki, with vehicles either diverted towards Patna Airport or required to make a U-turn there. Private vehicles, excluding government and official ones, will not be allowed to proceed eastwards from Circular Road or beyond Karpuri Golambar towards Eco Park, and will instead be redirected towards Lalit Bhavan to reach their destinations.To ease parking woes, several dedicated zones have been outlined. No vehicles will be allowed to park in the lane near Bihar Museum on Bailey Road; instead, parking is allowed in a single lane on the opposite roadside. Visitors to City Center Mall can use additional spaces at Gandhi Maidan, and during peak hours, traffic may be diverted to JP Ganga Path for queued parking on one flank. Those heading to the Planetarium or ISKCON Temple can utilise the multi-level smart parking facility.Parking is also arranged along the east side of Buddha Smriti Park’s boundary wall and in marked multi-level areas. For Eco Park, vehicles can be parked systematically on both sides of one lane on Atal Path. Near Zoo Gate No. 1 and Rajvanshinagar’s Hanuman Temple, roadside parking is banned, with drivers directed to the vacant grounds of the Veterinary College.Around Patna Junction, Mahavir Mandir and Golambar, no parking is permitted on the roads; options include single-lane roadside spots from GPO Golambar to West R-Block intersection or the Multi-Modal Hub. Finally, the main road near Kumhrar Park is off-limits for parking, but vehicles can be arranged in rows on the unpaved land along both sides.