City admin unable to ensure parked vehicles & shops stay in proper lanes

Time of India

11-06-2025

Bhopal: Broadening of roads—from four-lane to six-lane and two-lane to four-lane—is an all-pervasive trend in the city. The objective is to remove bottlenecks hampering traffic flow and provide ample space for all kinds of vehicles and pedestrians to move on the road with ease.
But the majority of people believe that the very purpose is defeated as extra space created by the broadening of roads is instantly occupied by vendors and parked vehicles, leaving the road cramped and congested with traffic.
"Having broad roads is not only necessary in view of the increasing density of traffic but it's aesthetically appealing too. However, as soon as you have a road broadened, a substantial portion of the extra space is occupied by parked cars, autos, and other vehicles, let alone stray cows and other animals, who also like to stretch themselves a little more and relax on the road.
Of course, vendors also start operating from the road itself," said Deepak Gupta, a resident of Gulmohar Colony on the situation.
Pankaj Sriwas, a resident of Arera Colony, while referring to the road in front of Kamlapati railway station and Kolar Road, said, "In front of the Kamlapati railway station, you must have seen, on one side you have parked vehicles and on the other side, you have tea stalls and pan shops operating.
It's quite a broad road and there are service lanes on both sides as well, but traffic chaos still persists there and you have a situation of traffic jam every now and then.
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Puneet Shrivastava, a student, said, "I am not opposed to vendors selling their things from the roadside and even occupying a portion of the footpath. They are poor people and doing it to make both ends meet, but setting up a kiosk or putting a handcart on the road itself and starting to sell snacks or other things should not be permissible."
Anubhuti Sharma, a school teacher, said, "Earlier, when roads elsewhere in the city were not so broad except for Link Road No. 1, you had fruits and indigenous cold drinks like 'nimbu pani' and 'pana' being sold by vendors from the road. Then rows of PUC (pollution checking units) vans occupied Link Road No. 2, and as more and more roads are being broadened, you have vendors occupying some of those roads also."
She reasoned that as the vacant space by the roadside vanishes due to the broadening of the road, from where the vendors operated, they start occupying the road itself.
BMC commissioner Harendra Narayan, when contacted for comments, said, "It's primarily for the PWD to fix the problem. As far as BMC is concerned, we conduct regular drives to remove encroachments from the road, including temporary settlements of the vendors.
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"It is the lack of enforcement," said retired chief engineer VK Amar. "India's urban roads are choked with encroachments, illegal parking, and unauthorised street vending, which might reduce usable road space by up to 50%.
Near MANIT Bhopal, slum dwellers relocated under schemes like PMAY(U) lease out allotted homes and return to informal settlements, exploiting weak enforcement of rules against renting or selling.
Street vendors illegally occupy pavements and roads. Vegetable sellers often set up stalls on busy roadsides or footpaths, reducing road width and obstructing pedestrian movement."
Amar further said that strict enforcement and smart infrastructure are key to tackling encroachments.
Municipalities must conduct regular surveys to ensure slum dwellers comply with housing policies. The Indian Road Congress mandates service lanes to segregate parking and local traffic. Indore's multi-level model—integrating a four-lane road, two-lane flyover, and metro line—could also be a useful solution.
Traffic police and civic bodies must enforce no-parking zones, while smart parking systems, like multi-level car parks, can curb roadside parking.
A master plan integrating these solutions, with stakeholder participation, is essential. Municipalities, state govts, traffic police, NHAI, and citizens share responsibility to ensure roads are used efficiently, he said.