Despite its wide roads designed to connect major market hubs and key areas like Central Avenue, Wardha Road, Amravati Road, and Koradi Road, the city experiences daily traffic gridlock due to mismanagement and ongoing infrastructure projects.
Daily traffic chaos plagues numerous roads in the city, including Variety Square to Liberty Square, Amravati Road, Ambazari Road, Munje Square to Mehadia Square, Jadhav Square in Ganeshpeth, Ashok Square on Great Nag Road, and Agrasen Square on Central Avenue.
Behram Patel, a resident of Raj Nagar, highlighted the ongoing traffic chaos plaguing junctions and roads in Nagpur, leading to significant delays. He emphasized that this gridlock not only wastes fuel, time, and energy but also pointed out a critical staffing issue: Nagpur operates with only 560 traffic cops instead of the sanctioned 890. Patel observed instances where officers gather in groups at junctions, indicating a lack of efficient deployment and coordination.
Tejinder Singh Renu, secretary of the Vidarbha Taxpayers Association, highlighted a significant rise in encroachments by vendors, wrong-side driving by two-wheelers, signal jumping, and reckless driving by auto-rickshaw drivers. He stressed the urgent need for enhanced CCTV surveillance and a more effective e-challan system to address these issues effectively.
Local media recently reported the closure of 43 routes due to ongoing infrastructure projects. Among the affected areas are LIC Square and the stretch from Indora to Ashok Square, where roads have been closed for concretization and other infrastructure works, resulting in severe traffic congestion in nearby areas.
Abhishek Wankhede, a resident of Indora, highlighted the detrimental impact of poorly planned road construction and flyovers, along with structural issues like those seen in the Sadar flyover since 2020. Another significant concern is the presence of unrepaired roads in areas undergoing infrastructure work, such as Agrasen Square.
Behram Patel said, “Traffic cops should fix the non-working signals or manage traffic manually,” pointing out the bottlenecks on Residency Road. DCP (Traffic) Shashikant Satao attributed the traffic mess on diversions due to ongoing construction across the city. He added that e-rickshaws and roadside encroachments are also big reasons for the congestion.
“We have detained 814 e-rickshaws in a special drive. Challan action was initiated against 1,627 autorickshaws,” he said.
The court criticized the traffic police for closing a road without proper study, stressing concerns over the necessity of a tunnel project. It raised issues regarding flooding in current underpasses and the cutting down of trees. Criticism was also aimed at MahaMetro and the Ministry of Road Transport for their failure to coordinate with planning authorities.