Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Commuters at Chanakyapuri Square were caught in severe traffic congestion on Thursday after unauthorised road digging for gas and water pipelines led to a massive gridlock, leaving several vehicles stranded for over an hour.
The congestion occurred around 10.30 am as vehicles, including e-rickshaws and two-wheelers, became entangled in the narrow passages created by the digging. Contractors for Avantika Gas reportedly began excavating the road two to three days ago without notifying the police. Furthermore, some pits were loosely filled with soil to cover water pipeline work. This caused vehicles to stall or become stuck in the soft mud, further worsening the traffic flow. Normalcy was restored only after senior police officials intervened, requiring 30 minutes of intense coordination.
Additional DCP (Traffic) Santosh Kaul said, The contractor dug up at the square for the gas pipeline without informing the police. Because the pits dug for the water pipeline were only temporarily filled with mud, vehicles were getting stuck, creating a severe bottleneck.
DCP (Zone 4) Anand Kaladagi has taken a stern view of the negligence and summoned the contractor to explain the failure to establish a traffic diversion plan.
As the area experiences high traffic volume during peak hours, the presence of large, open pits at the square significantly worsens the situation. A long queue of vehicles was seen along the stretch from Rajendra Nagar Bridge to Kesarbagh Bridge, and from Kesarbagh Bridge to Gopur Square.
