Encroachment and autos crowd Tekdi Road outside Nagpur station despite Rs 500 crore revamp

Nagpur railway station is being upgraded to a world-class facility at a cost of about Rs 500 crore. Underground parking has recently opened on the western side, giving a glimpse of the redevelopment.

But the sight that greets city residents and visitors before they enter the station premises, or as soon as they step out, tarnishes the image of the whole of Nagpur. Encroachment has mushroomed on Tekdi Road, and auto drivers remain firmly entrenched right in front of the gate. Their hold is so firm that drivers of vehicles entering or leaving have to ask for way.

According to sources, encroachment is being openly encouraged in front of the station through extortion of weekly payments. Carts selling tea, juice, dosa and biryani, which earlier stood on the eastern side, have now been shifted to Tekdi Road.

Those collecting the payments wield such influence that vendors have been allowed to set up chairs and tables on the road along with their carts, with no regard for rules or law. Whether this causes traffic jams or the risk of accidents, nobody seems to care.

This stretch of Tekdi Road has three lanes on one side and two on the other. Even so, only a single lane is left for motorists and pedestrians. Surprisingly, the vehicle of the municipal corporation's anti-encroachment department does not pass through here even once a day.

For the past few days, strictness by the traffic police has put some curb on the high-handedness of auto-rickshaw drivers on the western side of the station, but not fully. Hardly a day or part of a day passes without auto or e-rickshaw drivers throwing their weight around in front of the station entrance. They let vehicles neither in nor out.

This stretch of Tekdi Road suffers not only from encroachment tied to weekly payments and the high-handedness of autos and e-rickshaws. Gutkha, kharra, cigarettes and other intoxicants are also seen being sold openly. The traffic police are issuing challans to auto, e-rickshaw and other drivers who park and block the road, but the effort is not enough.

The need of the hour is a permanent police post here. The presence of police personnel would keep alive the fear of the law and also help fix accountability.

Tekdi Road, running from Jaystambh Chowk to Manas Chowk, has always been plagued by encroachment and the high-handedness of passenger vehicles. Even after more than 50 years, the local administration and the traffic police have not found a permanent solution to the encroachment and the arbitrary conduct of passenger vehicles in front of the station. The problem of auto drivers acting at will existed earlier, and now encroachment tied to weekly payments has also reached a dangerous level.