LUCKNOW, Aug. 12 -- Intermittent downpours for the last two weeks, the monsoon session of the state legislative assembly getting underway, battered roads on several key routes, and the city came undone. On Monday, traffic on key routes collapsed, despite officials having days to prepare for the movement of VIP convoys and restore the roads. In addition, the sheer mismatch between the personnel manning the junctions and the number of vehicles on the roads also proved to be a bottleneck. As per officials, the city had about 1,500 personnel regulating 15 lakh registered vehicles. The VVIP movements in Hazratganj became the root cause of congestion there. The multiple diversions in place triggered more chaos in Hazratganj and adjoining roads, which gradually spilt onto other parts of the city. All senior police officials, including the traffic department's DCP and ADCP, were on the streets trying to manage the situation. The gridlock began around 10:00 am with the onset of rain, and worsened between 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm. Although traffic eased slightly around 2:00 pm, school dismissals and another spell of rain once again plunged the city into disorder. The conditions improved for a few hours in the late afternoon before deteriorating again around 6:30 and 7:00 pm on account of office-goers rushing back home. "It is usually a 10-minute drive from Matiyari to Polytechnic Crossing. On Monday, it took me an hour," said Rakesh Sharma on X. "This is real Monday blues. The 15-minute route from my home in Chinhat to my office in Vibhuti Khand took me over 45 minutes," said Sharad Kumar. Senior traffic police officials blamed pothole-ridden roads after the rains, flawed road engineering, and the public works department's abject failure to repair key stretches for the chaos. "As many as 1,130 traffic cops, 380 home guards and more than 100 civil police officials are working in the rain every day, but poor road infrastructure is a major hurdle," said deputy commissioner of police (Traffic) Kamlesh Dixit. "We've written to concerned departments to address the issues. We are exploring ways to manage the situation better." Several intersections and arterial roads witnessed people stranded in long jams. The worst-hit areas were Matiyari Crossing, Gomti Nagar, including Vibhuti Khand, and Lohia Path, where potholes and waterlogging slowed down traffic to a crawl. A senior traffic department officer said most of these problematic roads fell under the PWD's purview. "We've sent the department several letters, but no assistance has come our way," he said. Encroachment and narrow road widths further choked movements. "The stretch from Vibhuti Khand underpass to Kathauta Crossing, and onwards to Chinhat, is a nightmare. Even with additional manpower, traffic jams will persist because of narrow carriageways and encroachments," Dixit admitted. For now, motorists have little choice but to endure the city's creaking traffic network, one that's buckling under poor planning and maintenance....