Metro construction barricades have narrowed the carriageway at Jawahar Chowk and adjoining areas. Long queues reported from Jawahar Chowk towards Depot Square and Bhadbhada Square. Congestion also affects stretch towards Old MLA Quarters. Situation worsens during evening peak hours. Problem particularly severe on Sundays when weekly vegetable market attracts large crowds. Causes include metro construction barricades, roadside encroachments, and surge in monsoon visitors to nearby picnic spots.

Bhopal Metro’s Blue Line, running from Bhadbhada to Ratnagiri-BHEL, faces uncertainty over its December 2028 completion target. Officials had indicated it would finish before the Orange Line.

• Shifting underground pipelines and other utilities is taking time and has affected broadband and internet services in several areas.
• Narrow roads in busy Bhadbhada and Jawahar Chowk have required traffic diversions, causing daily long jams. Residents expect the coming monsoon to worsen difficulties.
• Dust and noise near construction sites have raised safety and health concerns.
• Roads alongside elevated corridors are being widened by 2–3 metres.
• New Market traders fear prolonged construction could hurt business. The Orange Line priority corridor took more than five years to build, and the full line remains incomplete; segmented construction on the Blue Line increases the risk of missing its deadline.

• Bhopal Municipal Corporation intensified its anti-encroachment drive at Jawahar Chowk, a Smart City development zone and metro rail corridor.
• Under commissioner Sanskriti Jain’s instructions, the anti-encroachment squad, with the district administration and metro rail corporation, removed unauthorized platforms, kiosks, carts, food trucks and goods.
• The drive aimed to clear obstructions affecting public movement and the metro project passing through Jawahar Chowk to Bhadbhada.
• Officials said the action was not only routine enforcement but also a response to citizen complaints received through the CM Helpline and the BMC call centre.

Metro construction has severely damaged the Bhadbhada Square–Depot Square stretch in Bhopal, leaving potholes, narrow lanes and heavy dust. Nearly 18 feet of the road’s central portion is cordoned off, forcing traffic onto damaged side lanes and shoulders. Two-wheeler riders face accident risks, while dust from heavy vehicles affects commuters and residents. Additional DCP (Traffic) Basant Kaul said traffic police had repeatedly raised the issue with PWD and Metro authorities. Police will again formally ask construction agencies to repair the road. The condition drew attention after a 22-year-old CA aspirant was killed in a hit-and-run near the Directorate of Public Prosecution around midnight on November 30; an unidentified heavy vehicle struck him from behind as he rode home after dropping off a friend.

Bhopal’s Bhoj Metro, managed by Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Co. Ltd. (MPMRCL), is under construction. Phase 1 has two corridors and 28 stations, with a projected 2027 opening. The project is estimated to cost ₹6,941.40 crore. Funding includes a €400 million European Investment Bank loan, an Asian Development Bank ODA loan, and ₹2,239 crore allocated by the Union government. In fiscal 2024, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs approved ₹882 crore, ₹269 crore more than the previous year.

The city’s population grew from fewer than 100,000 in 1950 to over 2.5 million in 2025; it had 1,507,613 registered vehicles, according to data presented by the Transport Department in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on February 25.

The master plan, prepared by Rohit Associates Cities & Rails Pvt. Ltd. from May 2013, proposed 105 km across six corridors. Phase 1’s 27.90-km DPR was approved by the state in December 2016 and the Centre in October 2018; construction began in January 2019. Alstom’s May 2022 contract covers 27 trainsets (81 coaches). Line 2 runs Karond Circle–AIIMS; 6.225 km between AIIMS and Subhash Nagar is under construction. Line 5 runs Bhadbhada Square–Ratnagiri Tiraha.