Festive rush
NMC’s enforcement department has around 70 dedicated personnel, including a central team and zonal anti-encroachment squads operating through its 10 zonal offices. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Nagpur | Silver Rate in Nagpur | Bank Holidays in Nagpur | Public Holidays in Nagpur | Petrol Price in Nagpur | Diesel Price in Nagpur | CNG Price in Nagpur | LPG Price in Nagpur Stay updated with the latest Nagpur news.
Experts said the failure reflects not just poor traffic management but also a lack of basic planning and accountability. Experts said the larger problem was the absence of coordinated action. Festive rush Festive rush Festive rush Festive rush Festive rush Festive rush Nagpur: Another festive season, the same old chaos. The failure of traffic police and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to prepare a blueprint for managing the festive shopping rush has left citizens grappling with traffic gridlocks across the city. Haphazard parking and unauthorised vendors occupying road space have compounded the problem in major commercial hubs such as Mahal, Itwari, Gandhibagh, Sitabuldi, Jaripatka, Sadar, Dharampeth and Sakkardara. Inadequate deployment of traffic personnel at key locations has further aggravated the situation. The congestion is neither unexpected nor unprecedented. Diwali shopping draws crowds to markets every year, yet the same chaos returns with depressing regularity. Recently, a citizen served a legal notice on municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar over encroached footpaths, highlighting growing frustration with the civic body’s failure to safeguard pedestrian space. Such encroachments force pedestrians to squeeze through moving traffic on already congested roads. Yet, unauthorised vendors continue to occupy roads and footpaths, raising questions about the effectiveness of enforcement drives. Traffic police cannot blame encroachments alone while failing to regulate vehicular movement, just as NMC cannot cite manpower constraints when its teams fail to reclaim public spaces. A festive-season plan should have included designated parking, deployment of traffic personnel at congestion hotspots, action against illegal vending and coordinated anti-encroachment drives. Meanwhile, social worker Deepak Lalwani urged motorists to follow traffic rules to avoid aggravating congestion. He cautioned against mobile phone use and drunk driving, and stressed the importance of helmets, seat belts, safe overtaking, proper signalling and adherence to traffic signals. Download the TOI App.
“Citizens cannot be expected to suffer because officials fail to plan ahead,” she said. However, residents said the limited focus left other commercial areas exposed. Pravin Palkar, a resident of Narendra Nagar, said commuting had become increasingly frustrating. “Travel time across the city has increased manifold, and we are paying the price for the failure of enforcement agencies,” he said.
Meena Singh, a resident of West Nagpur, questioned why the authorities remained unprepared despite the festive rush being predictable. Assistant municipal commissioner Sanjay Kamble admitted that the department was primarily focusing on Sitabuldi Main Road and roads in Mahal. Corporator Sanjay Balpande from Central Nagpur alleged that the enforcement department had repeatedly ignored complaints against unauthorised vendors. “I raised the issue during a general body meeting and mayor Neeta Thakre too directed the department to act. Yet no action was taken,” he added. Rahul Lanke, a resident of Indora, questioned the effectiveness of the dedicated enforcement teams, saying the ground reality remained unchanged despite repeated complaints.