Nagpur: Koradi Naka flyover delay to cause heavy jams near Mahalaxmi temple this Navratri

Lakhs of devotees visit the famous Shri Mahalaxmi Jagdamba Mata temple in Nagpur every year, but this time they could face severe traffic jams and hardship during Navratri. The reason is the 1 kilometre long flyover being built at Koradi Naka, whose construction is still incomplete.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has shown serious negligence in this project and there has also been a lack of coordination with the railways. As a result, completing the flyover before Navratri, which begins on October 11, has become almost impossible.

A senior leader had recently claimed that the flyover would be opened to the public by Navratri, but the ground reality is completely different. Daily commuters and devotees visiting the temple will now bear the brunt of this unfulfilled promise.

The Mahalaxmi Jagdamba temple already sees record crowds during Navratri, and this year the crowds are expected to be even larger due to new attractions. Because construction work on the flyover has been moving at an extremely slow pace, Koradi Road has already become quite narrow. When vehicle pressure increases further during the festival, navigating this narrow stretch could become a nightmare for people.

Work on the four-lane flyover, being built at a cost of about Rs 45 crore, has been stalled due to work on raising the height of a high-tension power line. NHAI says a monopole has been erected to shift the power lines, but there has been a major delay in getting the necessary "railway block" from the railways to complete the work. It has been claimed that the railways have been repeatedly contacted about this over the last one and a half months. Some blocks have now started being granted, but full cooperation from the railways is still awaited. A clear lack of coordination is visible between NHAI, MahaTransco and the railways. Officials themselves have admitted that even after the power line issue is resolved, completing the flyover could take more than a month.

The Koradi Naka intersection has already been identified as an accident-prone spot. Despite this, people will have to pass through this same dangerous and narrow stretch during the festive season. Besides this, work on the remaining portion of the flyover over the Bokhara railway level crossing has not even begun yet. NHAI had earlier planned to carry out work on the main flyover and the railway over bridge (ROB) simultaneously, but delays in getting railway approval forced the two works to be separated, reflecting a major administrative lapse.

Claims of relief from the heavy traffic jams on Koradi Road during festivals have now proved hollow. Because of unfulfilled promises by leaders and the slow pace of the agencies carrying out the work, Nagpur residents will once again lose hours stuck in jams and face hardship this Navratri.