LIC Sq-Variety Sq stretch chokes daily due to barricades & parking mess

Nagpur: For motorists travelling from LIC Square to Variety Square, getting stuck in traffic has become a daily affair. Heavy traffic pouring in from multiple directions, barricades, traffic signals at short distances, and haphazard parking have turned the busy stretch into a series of bottlenecks.The first squeeze begins at LIC Square, where vehicles descending from Kingsway flyover and Kamptee Road double-decker converge with traffic heading towards RBI Square and Sitabuldi. Soon after, barricades near the flyover landing shrink road space, forcing heavy traffic into a narrower passage. The congestion continues from RBI Square towards Freedom Park Square, where motorists encounter another traffic signal at a T-junction before reaching Variety Square.“You clear one jam only to get stuck at the next point. During peak hours, the entire stretch becomes one long queue,” said Kishor Madan, a regular commuter.Beyond Freedom Park, the problem changes from bottlenecks to shrinking road space. Roadside vendors, haphazard parking, autorickshaws and e-rickshaws add to the congestion towards Variety Square. Avinash, a vendor near Variety Square, said lack of designated parking remains a major issue. “Police ask people to move vehicles or tow them, but there is hardly any proper place to park,” he said.Poor lane discipline compounds the chaos, with two-wheelers and autos frequently cutting across traffic. A senior Sitabuldi police officer said major snarls sometimes require four to five personnel working together to manually clear the traffic. “But we ensure that our officers are there to manage the traffic at major junctions,” he added.