CHENNAI: Traffic was choc-a-bloc on the GST Road on Monday in Tambaram, Chromepet, and Pallavaram areas from morning until noon hours,.

Vehicular traffic on the suburban National Highway is generally heavy on Mondays leading to traffic hams.

However, there was more than usual traffic congestion on the NH today. As a result, vehicles were forced to move in a snail's pace.

From Tambaram, it takes over an hour to reach the Chennai Airport area via the NH after crossing Chromepet and Pallavaram. Today's traffic situation delayed the commutes of people headed to offices, factories, and educational institutes.

The reason behind the traffic jams is the parking of vehicles on the roadsides, especially two-wheelers, said commuters, adding that if the police were to remove the vehicles and impose fines, such traffic congestion could be greatly reduced.

Restaurant goers who park their bikes and cars on the sides of roads also obstruct traffic. Auto drivers who keep their vehicles in no-parking areas and halt them in the middle of the road while picking and dropping passengers too have contributed to the situation, they opined.

"The traffic police in the Tambaram Police Division think that their job is to only catch people who don't wear seat belts and helmets and collect fines; to control the traffic on the road, police have to take severe action against those responsible for causing traffic congestion. Then only it can be controlled to an extent," commuters stated.