Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Over 30 abandoned vehicles were seized from around TT Nagar Dussehra Ground on Friday amid uproar by locals as the district administration, Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) and traffic police launched a major drive to clear roadside encroachments.
The vehicles, mostly old and damaged, were parked along the roadside for over five months, causing traffic congestion and public inconvenience. Despite repeated public announcements asking owners to remove the vehicles, no they remained there.
The situation escalated when the encroachment team led by municipal official Shailendra Singh Bhadauria, arrived with traffic police and nearly 10 cranes. The operation faced resistance from local mechanics, leading to a brief uproar. However, within three hours, around 28 vehicles were removed and shifted to basement near Dussehra Ground. The seized vehicles have now been handed over to the traffic police.
Campaign follows concerns
The campaign follows concerns raised by Bhopal MP Alok Sharma regarding increasing traffic chaos due to roadside encroachments. In response, district collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh has instructed SDMs and tehsildars to conduct similar actions in their areas. The ongoing 15-day campaign, which began on June 20, aims to remove abandoned vehicles and set up designated trenching yards for their storage.
Urgent need cited
SDM Archana Sharma said there was urgent need for a citywide joint campaign, citing the risk of accidents and traffic bottlenecks caused by haphazardly parked vehicles. Sharma further said that the administration assured that the crackdown would continue till all major roads were cleared.
