Roads choke again during peak hours in Indore:Drone traffic control claims fail; long jams leave commuters stuck

The city’s traffic system collapsed once again on Saturday, leading to long jams during peak hours. People remained stuck for nearly an hour at several major intersections, while vehicles came to a complete halt in many areas. The worst situation was seen at Nandlalpura Chauraha, Patnipura, Bengali Chauraha and Bheru Ghat, where heavy congestion brought traffic to a standstill. The problem first started at Bheru Ghat on Khandwa Road in the afternoon and later spread to other parts of the city. Between 6:30 PM and 8 PM, a long traffic jam was reported from Malwa Mill to Patnipura. After this, congestion continued for around 2 to 3 kilometres near Nandlalpura, causing major inconvenience to commuters. Ambulances and other essential services were also affected due to the jam. Although one or two traffic personnel were present at some locations, they appeared helpless in managing the heavy rush. Patnipura: The signal turned green many times, but vehicles could not move forward
On Saturday evening at 6:15 PM, the traffic system at Patnipura Chauraha deteriorated. There was such a rush of vehicles here that the lane from Malwa Mill to Patnipura became choked in no time. Vehicles were only able to move forward 4-5 feet every 2 minutes. After this, a long queue of vehicles coming from the opposite lane, i.e., Bhamori, also formed. The third lane, the road coming from MIG police station to Patnipura, also got jammed. People turned off their vehicles and stood still. Here, 2 policemen were unable to manage the situation. Nandlalpura Square : Massive jam all around
Traffic conditions also worsened at Nandlalpura. Here, at 8 PM, the situation deteriorated so much that vehicles could only move 200 meters in 15 minutes. Eyewitnesses reported that the roads from Nandlalpura to Sanjay Setu, Nandlalpura to Fruit Market, Reshamgali, and Kabootar Khana lane were packed with vehicles. Policemen are present here throughout the day, but in the evening, they were unable to manage the situation. Vehicles are stuck in both lanes at Bengali Square Meanwhile, the situation was even worse at Bengali Square. Here, from 7 PM, there was a massive jam in both lanes. There was no space even for ambulances to pass. People said that there is a significant problem with the signal timing here. The lane with more traffic is getting less time. An adequate police force is not present. People remained stuck here for 1-2 hours. Digital patrolling failed
For traffic control, the police started a smart surveillance campaign in February 2026. High-resolution drones were flown over busy areas and squares like Rajwada, Vijay Nagar, MIG, and Bhanwarkuan. The drones are directly connected to the police control room or the tablets of on-field officers, allowing live feeds to be viewed. The police claimed that after this experiment, there would be no traffic jams. We fly drones only on special occasions There was a 15-20 minute traffic jam at Bengali Square. Our team immediately cleared the jam. Our team is continuously monitoring the 20 major intersections during peak hours. We use drone units only on some special occasions. – Rajesh Tripathi, DCP Traffic