Nagpur: The Second Capital’s skyline may be rising, but for thousands of residents living along the city’s chaotic flyover construction corridors, life is steadily deteriorating. While the PWD and NHAI parade their projects as symbols of progress, the everyday reality on the ground is one of suffocating dust, worsening health and civic apathy.
Despite grand assurances of “future convenience”, locals say they are paying the price right now. Entire stretches of neighbourhoods have been blanketed in dust for months, forcing families to erect makeshift covers and barricades outside their homes just to breathe normally. In Pachpaoli — reeling from the demolition of one of Nagpur’s oldest flyovers — residents describe the situation as nothing short of a public health hazard.
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Doctors in the area are seeing a steady surge of patients with aggravated asthma, persistent cough, eye irritation and skin infections. Residents say they have no choice but to make repeated visits to clinics, with the elderly and those with pre-existing respiratory problems suffering the most.
Adding to the anger is the authorities’ inconsistent and half-hearted dust-control efforts. Water sprinkling — the most basic mitigation measure — is irregular, often skipped altogether, leaving construction sites to spew dust clouds that settle inside homes, shops and even food stalls. Locals allege that despite numerous complaints, officials rarely respond, let alone take meaningful action.
Community members say their appeals simply disappear into bureaucratic silence. Many believe that without an elected Corporator to push their concerns, the administration has little incentive to act. With NMC elections nearing, residents fear their plight will continue to be ignored until political interests realign.
As construction intensifies in multiple pockets of the city, citizens say they are tired of being collateral damage in the name of development. They are demanding concrete dust-mitigation protocols, stricter monitoring of contractors and immediate relief for neighbourhoods choking under the weight of Nagpur’s unchecked infrastructure frenzy.
