Bhopal: The city is all decked up to celebrate Navratri festival and welcoming the Goddess Durga, pandals of all sizes big and small have come up in every nook and corner of the city. These marquees are suitably decked up to surprise and amaze the visitors, there are some pandals which are causing a lot of inconvenience to people and have deranged the traffic.
Some of the organisers have encroached upon the road in erecting the pandals causing disruptions in the smooth flow of traffic. Though everyone want to be part of celebration, not at cost of someone’s inconvenience. Pandals set up at Banganga, T.T. nagar, Peer gate, and Jahangirabad area have encroached upon the roads and are disrupting traffic flow.
Recently, according to a report released by ministry of road transport and highways, the city made it to the list of cities where the numbers of road accidents were high. The condition of traffic in Bhopal is getting worse day by day. ASP Traffic, Mahendra Jain, said that the Pandals take permission before constructing it. Apart from this, to ensure smooth flow of traffic the entry of heavy vehicles is restricted to 1 O’ clock in the night. We have employed our personnel in some parts of the city and they make sure that traffic flow remain smooth.
Banganga
The pandal set up at Banganga area; in front of the ‘Jansampark Bhavan’ has almost covered half of the road. To make the condition worse, they have also put up a temporary barrier in the form of a horizontal bamboo piece so that one lane of the traffic, going towards professor’s colony is blocked completely.
T.T. Nagar
In T.T. nagar, the marquee erected represents a cave. The devotees have to form a line to go inside and seek blessings of the Goddess. However, a small ‘fair’ is also being organized near it. The pandal erected have encroached the road. They have also utilized the space meant for the pedestrians.
Peer Gate
Everyone one is well aware of the traffic problems in the old city. To make the matter worse for the commuters, some pandals have covered half of the road. It is causing disruptions in the normal flow of the traffic. One lane is completely blocked here. The vehicle owners are forced to use only a single lane. The traffic from both sides is getting affected due to it. To add to the woes, many bike repair shops are running alongside the road. 2 wheelers meant for repair are kept on the road itself which adds to the problems.
Jahangirabad
The main market in the Jahangirabad area is also witnessing the same problem. A tableau is erected just beside the ‘Pandal’, which has completely blocked one lane for the traffic. As a result, the vehicle owners have to go in the wrong way and then take a left turn from behind the pandal. The traffic condition is already worse in this area due to roadside hawkers.
Some vehicle owners interacted with us, and said that the traffic in Bhopal is getting worse day by day. During festivals, the condition gets much worser as people take out processions to celebrate the festivals. Ultimately, it is the traffic which gets affected very badly. To make the condition worse for the vehicles, pandals are erected along side the road and in some parts of the city one lane is closed for the traffic. It adds to the woes of the commuters. However, we can’t do anything as it is just a matter of days. We request the authorities to look into the matter and ensure smooth flow of the traffic.
