City: Bhopal

Three slums in and around Bhopal are home to 288 Bel-Pardhi families, one of the 198 ‘denotified’ tribes in India. Here is what they faced during the lockdown.

Patients at BMHRC hospital, many of them survivors of the 1984 gas tragedy, who were critically ill and on ventilator support were abruptly denied treatment after March 24th when it was designated a COVID-only hospital. Inevitably, some of them died.

The traffic management system, launched under the Bhopal Smart City Mission, is meant to regulate traffic, bring violators to book and address infrastructural and design lapses. Unfortunately, none of these are being done efficiently enough.

Bhopal has over 100 public parks, but most are in sad shape — used as protest venues or dumping sites, or merely languishing in decrepit condition. The state and municipality have now promised to revamp three of these, with funds released under the Amrut scheme.

As a result, both man and animal have been hit hard and the likelihood of illegal slaughter has also risen. Political wrangling, however, makes it appear improbable that the problem will be resolved soon.

Heavy rains have affected nearly 300 km of roads in the city. Innumerable potholes dot most roads which have become death traps for commuters, especially two-wheeler users. However, it is anybody’s guess when restoration work will begin in most of these areas.

Traffic chaos, commuter inconvenience and alarming accident records — on the face of it, the reasons for the public outcry against Bhopal’s ‘corridor of trouble’ seem aplenty. But does it really call for dismantling of the infrastructure? What do experts say?

Two years back, Bhopal’s automated bicycle sharing programme was launched amid much fanfare as one of its smart city projects. However, the scheme has seen lukewarm response at best and the factors behind this need careful attention.

Following a fire in a Surat coaching centre that claimed 24 lives, the Bhopal administration ordered an inspection of fire safety compliance at all coaching centres. Findings were alarming and notices have been issued to 200 coaching institutes and hostels.

Two generations have seen the light of day since the disastrous gas leak at Bhopal’s Union Carbide factory. Yet, children are still born with congenital defects and people battle chronic illness, as thousands of tons of chemical waste lie in the open, contaminating air and water. Is the state even bothered?

Crores have been marked for wetland preservation and urban water supply; yet, shrinking lakes, ineffective sewage management and diminishing green cover have brought Bhopal to a situation where its natural water reserves may dry up within a matter of weeks.

Countless trees have already gone under the axe and several thousands are at risk in Bhopal’s Tatiya Tope Nagar, where a government housing project under the Smart Cities Mission is in progress. Environmentalists fume at the toll that such projects are taking.