FOR thousands of commuters in Bhopal, the daily drive has become a daily dodge. What are meant to be free-flowing city roads are fast turning into unauthorised parking lots, leaving little space for actual traffic to move. Across several key residential and commercial stretches of the city, private cars and twowheelers are being parked illegally on both sides of the road, reducing wide two-way carriageways to a single, congested lane. The result is chaos - especially during morning and evening peak hours. The situation forces twowheelers, bicycles, cars and even larger vehicles to squeeze through the same narrow gap. One wrongly parked vehicle is enough to trigger a long snarl. Pedestrians, with no footpath left to use, are forced onto the main road, risking their lives. “Earlier it took two minutes to cross this stretch, now it takes fifteen. School vans, ambulances and office-goers all get stuck. One sudden car door opening can cause a major accident,” said a daily commuter from the area.

 

The menace is not just about inconvenience. It has become a major safety hazard. Reduced visibility at turns, blocked access for emergency vehicles, and rash manoeuvring to overtake parked cars have led to a rise in minor accidents and road rage incidents. THE COST CITIZENS ARE PAYING: The price of this unregulated parking is being paid by the common citizen every day - in wasted fuel, lost time, increased pollution and constant stress. Locals allege that despite repeated complaints, enforcement remains weak. The absence of clearly marked, designated parking zones in busy commercial areas has only made matters worse. Vehicle owners park with impunity, knowing that no penalty will follow. The demand from citizens is clear and urgent. The Traffic Police and Bhopal Municipal Corporation must act in coordination to demarcate legal parking spaces, launch intensive anti-encroachment and towing drives, impose steep fines on violators and ensure regular patrolling. A city’s roads are its lifelines. When those lifelines are choked by illegal parking, it is not just traffic that comes to a standstill - the entire city does.