Under Threat: Proposed Mandideep-Bhopal Road Project Comes Under Environmentalists’ Target In Bhopal

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Fighting for the conservation of Upper Lake, environmentalists here formed a human chain at the lake protesting the proposed Mandideep-Bhopal road project.

The green activists claimed that the proposed road project will destroy the catchment of Upper Lake. Sarad Kumare, one of environmentalists, said, “ This road is being connected to Phanda block which comes under the catchment of Upper Lake.

The road should be connected at Jhagaria on Shakshi Dhabha to Sehore Road. We are protesting this project as it will destroy the catchment of Upper Lake. We will continue our fight for conservation of Upper Lake.

The Bhopal Master  Plan  2031 that was put in public domain in March 2020 has proposed construction of Bhopal Western Bypass Road in western and southern parts of the city.

The 40.90 km long bypass project starts from Itayakalan village on Jabalpur-Bhopal National Highway (NH) 46 Phanda village on Bhopal-Indore State Highway (SH) 28. The project, costing around Rs. 3,000 crore, is being implemented by Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation Limited (MPRDC).

The main objective of the project is to divert traffic from the industrial town of Mandideep to Indore, bypassing the city. The four-lane road project, with paved shoulders and two additional service lanes, will require the acquisition of 613.92 acres of private farming land belonging to 31 villages in three tehsils of Bhopal and Raisen.