Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Tuesday questioned the planning behind the newly built ‘Dr Shrikant Jichkar Flyover’ on Amravati Road, observing that the stretch narrows dangerously near the university premises, creating traffic bottlenecks.A division bench comprising justices Anil Pansare and Raj Wakode directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to file a detailed response within a week explaining the planning and design behind the flyover.The court’s observation came during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by NGO Janmanch against indiscriminate cementing of Nagpur roads. While hearing the matter, the judges took cognisance of the poor traffic design at the university end of the flyover and questioned which agency approved such a design. “The road at the tail end of the bridge becomes extremely narrow, leading to frequent congestion and risk to commuters,” the court verbally remarked, noting apparent lapses in coordination between planning and execution authorities.The newly inaugurated flyover connects the Regional Transport Office (RTO) square to the Nagpur University area and was opened to traffic only recently. However, commuters have complained of daily snarls near the university campus, where the width of the road drastically reduces, forcing vehicles to slow down abruptly. The court said this design flaw indicates “a lack of foresight in infrastructure planning” and sought accountability from all departments involved.Girish Kunte appeared for Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), while Anish Kathane represented NHAI and NS Rao pleaded for the state govt. The bench fixed the next hearing for November 18.The high court also took note of the deteriorating condition of the service road along the Nagpur-Amravati National Highway bypass. The bench remarked that “the situation of the bypass is extremely poor” and pointed out the absence of road signage and basic driver facilities along the route. The NHAI was asked to submit a report within a week detailing the current state of the service road and measures planned for its improvement.
