Road to Heaven goes through hell ! :(

Namaste Shri Shivraj Ji,

Am a huge fan of yours even though I don’t live in Madhya Pradesh. I didn’t know about you, till a petrol pump attendant in 2009 told us, you were a good man and had done really good work. This was our first road trip from Bangalore to Delhi and the roads in MP were really good.

Then we did the trip in the reverse in Dec 2012 – going from Gurgaon to Bangalore. We were happy with the roads till we reached the Narsingh gar stretch just outside Bhopal and spent two hours navigating it. Then we started the third trip on this route just three weeks back on March 1st and found a different route to reach Bhopal via Jhansi-Lalitpur-Bina-Vidisha. We kept appreciating your work on roads in this stretch till we reached the traffic signal near the airport ! Our taste of hell started right there – the signage there said Bhopal was straight ahead and we entered old Bhopal. What we missed by not coming via Narsingh Gar we got a bigger dose through old Bhopal. But reaching Shamla Hills, crossing your residence and staying at Ivy Suites, made the pain go away. The most refreshing part was the view of the lake from the room and it was heaven.

Now, the reason for this blog and email to you is because of our 4th trip and this time we were coming from Hyderabad to Bhopal. We laughed and sang and made merry till Betul … Nearly 667 Kms from Hyderabad. The roads were nothing short of awesome because it was a four lane highway. Then hell started. We left Betul at 4 pm and reached Itarsi at 6 pm – the roads were poor, with patches everywhere but still drivable. Then from Itarsi to Bhopal was THREE HOURS OF SHEER TORTURE !! There were no roads, it was Narsingh Gar but over nearly 150 kms. Why have you neglected this portion ? Your state is so beautiful, but because there aren’t roads, all that we can focus on is the driving. We had been to Botswana for a safari and the roads there were stunning… We were in a less luxurious vehicle and didn’t feel the strain at all.

I understand M.P has reserve forests and they should remain reserved for the sake of human life to be sustained on Earth. So don’t put a 4-lane highway, but just get this single road laid like a tarmac ! Put enough fencing around the reserve forests and the agricultural lands and let people enjoy the scenery. I don’t want to drive fast through M.P – I want to drive slowly and enjoy the scenery, not reach Bhopal thoroughly harassed. :(:(:(

The route that is hell is Betul-Itarsi-Hoshangabad-Obeidullahganj-Bhopal. We will never drive through this way till you inaugurate the new road by driving on it and not finding a single pothole. That’s my demand as a citizen of this country and a well wisher of yours. 

One of my friends sent this poster today morning –

But it’s a wrong statement – the staircase to heaven (Bhopal) is the hell in your state :(. I urge you to please work on this complaint right away and may there be a highway to heaven rather than to hell.

With regards

An aggrieved Indian road traveller.