Missing signals add to traffic chaos at busy Pragati Square

Bhopal: There seems to be no end to traffic chaos at Pragati Square. Despite being one of the busiest squares in the heart of the city’s commercial hub, MP Nagar, traffic is being managed manually. Traffic police remain deployed at the square, but the volume of traffic remains so high that the cops literally struggle to manage traffic.
The traffic signals from the square were removed during the demolition of BRTS corridor and the cops apprehend that they may not be reinstalled soon.The cops suspect that the signals will be installed only after the completion of construction works of Metro and flyover which is likely to take another 3-4 months. Till then the commuters will have to face the problems while passing through the square.
Roads from MP Nagar Zone-2, Shivaji Nagar, Board Office and Mansarovar Complex meet at the Pragati Square. A large number of coaching centres, banks, commercial complexes, restaurants and hawkers’ corners are located near the square due to which not only the youngsters and students, but office goers and businessmen pass through the area. Being connected to posh residential areas like Shivaji Nagar and Arera Colony a large number of people working in Mantralaya, district court and other govt and private offices pass through the square.
A commuter Rajesh Chouhan said that traffic cops started checking vehicles at the busy Pragati Square too. “The volume of traffic at Pragati Square remains very high throughout the day. When the traffic cops conduct checking at the busy square, some commuters take sudden turns to avoid getting caught. But they not only endanger their lives but also the lives of other commuters,” Chouhan said.
Another commuter Yash Shukla, a student, said that passing through Pragati Square has become a difficult task. One can see vehicles from all directions stuck at the square in absence of traffic lights. Traffic cops simply cannot control so many vehicles manually.
A senior traffic cop said that during peak hours in absence of traffic signals, jams take place daily at Pragati Square. “Though the police manage traffic manually but their capacity is limited and they get exhausted resulting in traffic chaos. Commuters do not wait and jump stop lines when traffic is managed manually,” the cop said.
ACP Ajay Bajpai said that the main reason behind the traffic chaos at Pragati Square can be attributed to the ongoing construction work. Left turns are not clear. There are service lane problems. Once the construction work is complete and signals are reinstalled the traffic will move smoothly through the square. Once traffic on the flyover starts, things will become easier as many vehicles will commute through the flyover.