Three people died after being stuck in a 32-hour-long traffic jam on the Indore-Dewas highway in Madhya Pradesh. The MP High Court has issued notices to the Centre and NHAI seeking explanation for the chaos.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court requested responses from the Union government and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning a significant traffic jam on the Indore-Dewas section of the Agra-Mumbai National Highway.
Justices Vivek Rusia and Binod Kumar Dwivedi of the HC’s Indore bench issued notices to both the Centre and NHAI, as well as the local administration and police in Indore, following a petition filed by Dewas lawyer Anand Adhikari.
The court instructed the respondents to reply within a week.
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Additionally, the court ordered that a private company involved in road construction between Indore and Dewas be added to the list of respondents. The High Court also mandated that the current diversion of heavy vehicles on the highway’s Indore-Dewas stretch continue temporarily.
The petitioner’s lawyer, stated,
“There was a massive jam between Indore and Dewas for about 50 hours between Wednesday and Friday last week in which thousands of vehicles were stranded and the public faced great inconvenience,”
In light of these events, the PIL requests that the road construction on this heavily trafficked section be conducted under the High Court’s oversight to ensure accountability from the respondents.
Notably, Vijay Panchal, a resident of Indore’s Bijalpur area, reported that his father, Kamal Panchal (65), died of a heart attack while their car was stuck in the traffic jam.
At least three fatalities occurred within 30 hours as people were trapped in a significant traffic jam that extended nearly 8 kilometres between Thursday and Friday. The Indore administration mobilized in response to the situation.
The traffic jam, which began Thursday evening and persisted until Friday night, left over 4,000 vehicles stranded, causing chaos and raising serious concerns about the city’s road and traffic management systems.
Traffic was rerouted to a narrow service lane, resulting in severe congestion and a chaotic situation. The lack of alternative routes through nearby villages exacerbated the traffic crisis.
The first reported victim was Sandeep Patel, 32, who suffered a heart attack while being transported to the hospital. His uncle mentioned that Sandeep had complained of chest pain and was stuck in traffic when his condition worsened. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
The deaths of Kamal Panchal, 62, and Balram Patel, 55, were reported on Friday.
Kamal’s son, Vijay Panchal, said,
“We were stuck in the jam for one and a half hours. During this time my father got nervous, he complained of heaviness and fainted in the car. He was taken to a private hospital in Dewas, where doctors declared him dead,”
In response, Indore collector Asheesh Singh directed officials from NHAI, IMC, Traffic Police, and PWD to ensure smooth traffic flow. The traffic jam also drew criticism from the opposition Congress party.
Congress spokesperson Amit Chaurasia stated,
“There has been a huge traffic jam on the bypass for several days. Three people have died. Action should be taken against the administrative officers and police for failing to maintain traffic,”