VILLUPURAM: Traffic came to an abrupt halt for several minutes and vehicles piled up in a serpentine queue at the Athur toll booth on Saturday, owing to the increase in travel on the long holiday weekend.

With the beginning of the Pooja holidays, many people working in different parts of the state, especially Chennai, is heading back to their homes located in Southern districts by cars, government, and private buses.

The traffic police department had made special arrangements and posted several extra police personnel to handle the increase in traffic movement.