A major part of Ajni and Wanjari Nagar goes dark after sunset, leaving motorists to navigate through black spots where potholes and squares are barely visible. The stretches most affected are Railway Men's School Square to Wanjari Nagar Water Tank Road, Ajni Railway PRS Office to Medical College Square, and Ajni Police Station to Rameshwari Road in South Nagpur area. On all three routes the street lights are not working since past month, putting citizens in a spot. The absence of street light has made driving dangerous, especially at squares, where navigating is quite difficult as the expanse is quite big.

 

Residents said deep potholes have developed in the middle of the road near squares, which are not visible to naked eyes at night. So they are black spot near the square. The pothole in between is not seen unless the street light is working. Commuter tries to avoid that pothole but there are high chances they may hit the incoming vehicle from all sides attempting to cross the Square and thus the spots have turned into accident prone zone. It is dangerous to drive,” Rohit Chawhan, a daily commuter on the route said. Adding to the risk is the square developed at Wanjari Nagar besides the police training ground. Locals have termed it an unwanted square, created without any traffic planning. The traffic signal installed at the wanjari nagar square is one of the Ten smart traffic signal upgraded under the Keltron-led initiative which is completely non-functional.

 

According to residents, the signal has never worked and stands only as a showpiece. At night, without street lights and without a working signal, the square becomes a blind spot for vehicles coming from different directions, increasing chances of mishaps. The worst affected are school-children from Railway Men's School, patients travelling towards Medical Square, and residents of Rameshwari and Wanjari Nagar who use these roads daily. Women commuters have also raised security concerns due to the darkness. Residents have demanded that the Nagpur Municipal Corporation [NMC] urgently repair the street lights and the traffic department make the signal at Wanjari Nagar functional, before the negligence leads to a serious mishap.