Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): There is not a single street light on the entire stretch of road leading from the MP State Equestrian Academy to Neelbad via the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication (MCNUJC) and the MP Shooting Academy. The road is also in a dilapidated state.
After sunset, the road is enveloped in darkness, making it dangerous for the pedestrians as well as two-wheeler riders. The area falls under Ward number 26 (Bishan Khedi) of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation. The entire strength of about 1.5-2.0 km length doesn’t even have poles for street lights, making it accident prone.
The local residents say that accidents are very common on the road. The road is used by a large number of visitors to the three institutions. The University, which moved into its new campus more than a year back, has quarters for its teaching and non-teaching staff as well as hostels for male and female students.
A female hosteller told the Free Press that she and her friends feel unsafe due to the darkness on the road. “We avoid going out of the campus after sunset,” she said. Teaching and non-teaching staff members of the University, who don’t live on the campus, frequently leave the institution after dark. “It is a nightmare to drive on the road. If a truck or an SUV comes from the other side, it is very difficult to give way to it to pass,” a female staffer said. She added that the road was given a temporary makeover during the Vice President of India’s visit to the University for its convocation ceremony in September last year. But after that, the work came to a standstill and hasn’t resumed since then.
Besides, a large number of sportspersons both from the country and abroad visit the two sports academies for tournaments etc. “The road is unmotorable and there are no streetlights. What impression must they be carrying back with them about Bhopal and India?” asks a professor at the journalism varsity.
