Nagpur: Just a stone’s throw from the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) — a lifeline for patients from across Central India — Medical Square in Nagpur has once again exposed the city’s shocking lack of traffic management. What unfolded on Thursday evening wasn’t just a routine jam; it was a three-hour urban chokehold that put lives on the line.
From 5 pm to 8 pm, Medical Square, where six arterial roads converge, was reduced to a noisy, chaotic sprawl of honking horns, idling engines, and helpless commuters. In the heart of this urban paralysis were 10 to 12 ambulances, many of them likely ferrying critically ill patients to GMCH and nearby hospitals. Trapped in the congestion alongside them were at least 25 private long-distance buses and a flood of personal vehicles — all victims of official apathy.
The problem wasn’t just the volume of traffic. The complete absence of traffic police for over two hours turned a bad situation into a dangerous one. By the time they arrived, the damage had been done — delays, tempers flaring, and perhaps lives put at risk.
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29 May 2025
To make matters worse, adjacent roads leading from Reshimbagh Square to Baidyanath Square and Ashok Square to Medical Square were also clogged, creating a spillover of congestion that crippled movement across the entire stretch.
It is shocking that such a critical junction near one of the region’s largest hospitals has been allowed to spiral into a daily traffic hell. Patients rushing for emergency care shouldn’t be at the mercy of indifferent planning and absent enforcement. This isn’t just about traffic — it’s about priorities. In a city aspiring to be a Smart City, Medical Square remains a glaring example of what happens when civic responsibility takes a back seat.
The question now is: Will the authorities wake up before another life is caught — and possibly lost — in the gridlock?
