Bhopal: The Mata Mandir square, one of the largest and one of busiest road crossings in city, poses threat to life. The road crossing receives traffic from MANIT, New Market, P&T square and BJP office. Bhopal Municipal Corporation office is also located in the area. A bulk of traffic passes through the rotary, which creates chaos, confusion and traffic jams as there are no traffic signals. Traffic policemen are also not deployed to regulate vehicular traffic.
Additional superintendent of police (traffic) Mahendra Jain, when contacted, said that police department is in the process of identifying spots where traffic signals are necessary. He said the issue will be taken up at next meeting of road safety committee.
Congress corporator Rafeeque Qureshi, a daily commuter, said that size of rotary should be minimised so that commuters can view vehicles coming from all directions. Free Press talked to a cross section of residents about problems they face while passing through Mata Mandir square.
– DK Gaur, a PHED employee, said that his office is located near the square and he has to cross it everyday. “I am a daily commuter. There is always a risk of accidents, collision at square in absence of traffic signals,” he said.
– Khurshid Siddiqui, a retired government employee, said it is hard to spot a vehicle coming from other side because of its large size. “It scares me, as speeding vehicles cross through it. It becomes very difficult for to cross the road. The roads should be manned either by a cop or should have traffic signal,” he said.
– Jitendra Singh, a contractor and a resident of New Market, said that the size of rotary should be shortened. “Also, there should be traffic signal. In its absence, threat of collision always persists,” he said.
