In recent years, Raipur has witnessed many changes. The state government has invested a large amount of funds in the development of infrastructure in the state. This has mainly focused on building better roads. Much of this has been in Raipur to improve navigation within the city. One of them has been Gaurav Path. This road linking Ghadi Chowk and Telibandha has been expanded to four lanes. The canal link road linking Pandri and the airport is also under construction. Construction of this road has been completed up to Pandri to Telibandha. Construction continues to expand Raipur Bilaspur, which is now a single lane highway. But despite all these things, traffic congestion is increasing in the city.
If you pass through Ramsagar Para Road or Malviya Road or the Pandri Lodhipara section or the Gudhiyari Underground Bridge during the morning or afternoon rush hours, you will experience traffic congestion that is now becoming the hallmark of the city. So why is this happening? Well, one of them is due to the fact that Raipur, being the administrative and economic capital of Chhattisgarh, has undergone rapid changes. All this beginning has led to several companies settling in Raipur. Now we have an influx of people from other states coming to this city looking for opportunities. Indeed, Raipur is on its way to becoming a melting pot of cultures. Since it became the capital, Raipur’s population has doubled from almost 7 lakhs to almost 14 lakhs now. His disposable income has also increased significantly. But these are not the only factors. Let us now analyze two other factors.
One of them would be public transport services. Or rather the lack of it. If you look at it, the public transport in the city of Raipur relies mostly on cars or local buses. In fact, the buses here in Raipur are too few to even be considered for public transport. Cars are the de facto mode of public transport in Raipur. But then the prices here are not fixed and depend more on the mood of the driver. In addition to this, there is the fact that most of these vehicles end their operations after 9pm. Very few are on the roads after 10 at night. So you can’t depend on these vehicles all the time.
All of this has led to the growing need for private transportation. When it comes to owning your own personal vehicle, both aspirations and need play an important role. While in many cities it has been more of an aspiration and less of a need; in Raipur it has been the opposite. Necessity has led to demand for vehicles designed for the masses, while aspirations result in demand for high-end vehicles. Many families in Raipur own at least two vehicles; two bikes, bike and moped, moped and car, bike and SUV, the list goes on. If you look at two wheels; be it bicycles or mopeds, Raipur already has a vibrant market for it. TVS, Yamaha, Honda, Mahindra, Hero, Bajaj, Suzuki. All of these brands that are used by the masses have bike showrooms. Even high-end models like Royal Enfield, KTM, Hyosung also have showrooms. In fact, the great demand for Royal Enfield has led to the opening of two showrooms in the city. It’s a similar story for SUV and car showrooms. Maruti, Suzuki, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Toyota, Skoda, Ford, Tata, Mahindra, Fiat, Renault, Premier, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Datsun, Honda, Volkswagen all have SUVs and car dealers in Raipur. Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Range Rover also have an SUV showroom in Raipur. Raipur consumers now have many options to choose from. They now have the option to choose from a variety of cars, SUVs, mopeds, and bicycles. They also have enough disposable income to shop at these licensed showrooms.
And we haven’t even mentioned the vibrant second-hand car market for car dealers in Raipur. The responsibility now rests with the state government to predict this growing demand and plan for the future because their efforts in the present, while certainly worthy of applause, are not enough.
