Dussehra Holidays End; Heavy Traffic Jam on Chennai’s GST Road

Chennai witnessed massive traffic congestion on Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road on Sunday evening as thousands of vehicles moved at a snail’s pace. The traffic build-up stretched nearly 50 km between Maduranthakam and Perungalathur, caused by people returning to the city after the Ayudha Pooja and Gandhi Jayanthi holidays, which were followed by the weekend.

According to Google Maps data at 7:30 pm, a 27-km stretch from Maduranthakam to Paranur in Chengalpet was completely clogged, with vehicles taking more than an hour to cover the distance. Additional bottlenecks were reported near Pazhamuthur and Mamandur, where the road narrows to two lanes, and at Singaperumal Kovil junction, which saw a three-km traffic crawl.

Even six-lane stretches near Guduvancheri junction failed to ease the pressure due to the sheer volume of vehicles. Those heading towards Poonamallee found some relief after diverting at Vandalur junction via the Outer Ring Road. However, city-bound traffic worsened near Kilambakkam.

The Kilambakkam stretch turned into the worst choke point, as rainwater from the bus terminus flooded two km of the highway. “Routine festive return traffic was already heavy, but the flooding slowed everything further,” said S. Navaneethan, a commuter stuck in the jam.

Adding to the delays were slow U-turns by MTC buses, ongoing flyover construction at Perungalathur, and poor traffic movement around junctions. Although police had advised motorists to use East Coast Road as an alternative, most chose to stick with GST Road. Authorities suggested that commuters time their return outside peak hours to avoid getting caught in long jams.