Citywide Anti-Encroachment Drive Planned As Administration Wakes Up To Bhopal's Traffic Mess After Festive Season

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A comprehensive traffic management and anti-encroachment plan that should ideally have been prepared and implemented before the festive rush began is now being drawn up by the Bhopal district administration after the festive season has ended.

With traffic congestion becoming a daily ordeal across the city, the administration is now coordinating with the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), Public Works Department (PWD) and the city traffic police to identify bottlenecks, clear encroachments and streamline vehicular movement.

Before Diwali, collector Priyank Mishra convened a meeting with officials from the three departments to discuss immediate measures and a long-term strategy to make roads encroachment-free and improve traffic management. The exercise is now being developed under the supervision of traffic experts.

An urban traffic expert, Prof Mayank Dubey, has identified congestion points from Lalghati to Misrod and proposed engineering and enforcement-based solutions.

Poor junction designs choke major intersections

According to Dubey, Lalghati requires scientific redesign, revised signal timings and removal of illegal parking from free-left lanes. At Moti Masjid, a comprehensive junction plan, regulated U-turns and designated routes for e-rickshaws have been recommended to prevent wrong-side driving. Bhopal Talkies, an irregular five-way intersection, needs wider left-turn lanes, removal of encroachments, revised signal cycles and CCTV-based enforcement. At Polytechnic, reducing the oversized rotary and road dividers could increase the usable carriageway width.

Commercial hubs, old city face mounting pressure

At Board Office, smarter signal management and better utilisation of the existing flyover have been suggested. The Raj Bhavan T-junction requires encroachment removal, widening and a proposed rotary. Jyoti Talkies needs regulated roadside parking and shorter signal cycles, while Alpana and Prabhat intersections require action against unauthorised auto, bus and e-rickshaw stands. In Bairagarh, organised roadside parking and clear service roads are recommended. Karond needs better traffic regulation amid Metro construction, while Kolar Road requires development of more than 10 proposed parking sites along the six-lane stretch.

Free-left turns, Stricter enforcement proposed

At Shahpura, uninterrupted free-left turns and strict signal compliance have been suggested. At Misrod, the expert has proposed a rotary near the police station, removal of service-road encroachments and speed regulation.