Nagpur: In the past three years, authorities in Nagpur have been actively working towards the demolition of the Tekdi Flyover. However, the owners of the shops located under the flyover have remained a significant obstacle to the process. Fortunately, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has swiftly taken action based on court verdicts, leading to the successful clearance of all shops except for 20, according to a report in a local English daily.
Out of the total 175 shops situated under the Tekdi Flyover, the issue of only 20 shops remains pending in terms of their handover to Maha Metro. NMC is set to finalize the process within the coming week, following which the Metro authorities will commence the demolition of the “Design Disaster” that the flyover has come to be known as.
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20 May 2025
Milind Meshram, the Deputy Municipal Commissioner and in-charge of the Tax Department, stated, “Out of the 175 shops, we have evacuated 120 and handed them over to Maha Metro. Regarding the remaining 55 shops, in compliance with the High Court’s orders, we have allocated alternative shops on the land owned by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to 35 owners. These individuals had purchased the shops but failed to vacate their existing establishments under the flyover. Fifteen shop owners have received compensation and withdrawn the amounts from their bank accounts. The remaining 20 shop owners have differing issues, with some seeking compensation and others desiring shops at the alternate site. We aim to resolve these matters by next week and commence the clearing process starting from June 19.”
Once the Nagpur Municipal Corporation hands over the flyover to Nagpur Metro, the demolition process will commence within the next 15 days. Local media has consistently highlighted the issues surrounding the Tekdi Flyover, referring to it as a “Design Disaster.” Unfortunately, the city authorities failed to recognize these concerns until the construction of the Ram Jhula bridge brought them to the forefront. The flyover has become a major traffic impediment, causing confusion among regular users as well as the administration and traffic police.
With the pending shop owner issues being addressed by NMC, the path is now clear for the demolition of the Tekdi Flyover, which will likely alleviate the traffic congestion and safety concerns associated with the poorly designed structure. The authorities are expected to take necessary steps to ensure a smooth demolition process and minimize any inconvenience to the public.
Sans the guidance of cops, the commuters started using the area as per their whims and fancies. In fact, reputed institute Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) had advised the then administration not to go with the plan of construction of this bridge as it could be a disaster, but nobody paid attention to that.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in 2020 had taken up the issue and had asked the authorities to speed up the work of demolition. But it did not move by even an inch. The shopping complex was constructed for shop-owners who run their small businesses under the bridge. According to plans, apart from the demolition of Tekdi flyover, stretching of Ramjhula to PNB and construction of underpass were completed. Statue of Sant Tulsidas at Manas chowk will be shifted to a suitable site near the square.
According to experts, the temple is not an obstacle. Unfortunately, the then civic body did not take stakeholders into consideration, so now demolishing it also would burden the exchequer by over Rs 18.51 crore. It was on May 27, 2008, that the flyover became functional. Shockingly, the flyover did not have the approval of competent authority even then.
