GUA MUSANG, March 20 — Police are expecting traffic in Gua Musang to rise till tonight due to the influx of people coming back to celebrate Aidilfitri, Gua Musang district police chief Supt Sik Choon Foo said.

Vehicles from the Klang Valley are still entering the district in droves, while there are several vehicles that have broken down along Jalan Gua Musang-Kuala Lipis, Pahang, he added.

“Traffic congestion at the border area of Merapoh, Pahang and Kampung Mentara here has exceeded 20 kilometres due to several broken-down vehicles along the road and personnel on duty, assisted by the public, are attending to the vehicles to ensure smooth traffic flow and reduce the risk of accidents to other motorists,” he said when contacted by reporters today, adding that they were closely monitoring the situation and carrying out traffic dispersals to reduce congestion and to ensure a more controlled flow of traffic.

Checks by Bernama as of 5 pm revealed that traffic volume has risen along Kampung Lepan Jaya near Kampung Meranto, while traffic is slow in front of Dewan Kompleks Perdana Majlis Daerah Gua Musang to the Bendahara traffic light junction and along the entire stretch of Jalan Gua Musang-Kuala Krai.

A motorist from Gombak, Siti Noraini Ghazali, 37, shared that she had planned to return a day before Aidilfitri to avoid traffic congestion, but still had to deal with a jam at the Pahang border heading to Kelantan.

“The jam was because a motorist had to stop by the roadside as their vehicle encountered some difficulty.

“I chose this route as it was nearer compared to the East Coast Highway and I expected a smooth journey back home in Kuala Krai but this is turning out to be tiring and exhausting due to the hot weather,” she added. — Bernama