India, June 29 -- With road-widening work along the Wadaki and Phursungi stretches of the Palkhi Marg progressing at a snail's pace, navigating these stretches has become an everyday ordeal for thousands of locals and commuters.

While road-widening is expected to improve connectivity and ensure a smoother route for the annual Wari procession in the long run, incomplete stretches of road, ongoing excavation, diversions and inadequate traffic management are all but leaving motorists stranded in long queues during peak hours. Dust pollution, damaged service roads and waterlogging during the rain are only adding to the commuters' woes. So much so that even short journeys now take significantly longer even as the movement of school buses, amb...