Nagpur: As Nagpur swelters under a punishing sun with temperatures soaring past 44°C, relief for thousands of commuters waiting at traffic signals is getting delayed. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) plan to install green shade nets at key junctions — an effective shield against the blazing summer — has run into an unusual roadblock: the ongoing West Bengal elections.After weeks of delay and criticism over pending approvals, the civic body finally cleared the proposal and initiated work at a handful of junctions. Installations are currently underway at Indora Chowk, Telephone Exchange Square, Tukdoji Putla and Chhapru Nagar Chowk, while RBI Square is expected to be taken up during night hours. On the ground, the progress is anything but swift.Behind the slow pace lies a lesser-known reality of urban infrastructure work — dependence on a specialised migrant workforce. The erection of green nets is not a routine job; it involves assembling large frames, working at height and ensuring structural stability against strong winds. And for this, contractors rely heavily on skilled labourers from West Bengal.“They are experts at this work and extremely fast. Most of the workforce we depend on comes from Bengal,” said a senior NMC official. “But with elections underway, many have returned home. It has created a sudden manpower gap.”Contractors now find themselves scrambling to fill the void or waiting for workers to return after polling phases conclude in early May. Even where work has started, the pace has slowed due to limited hands. “We are trying to convince workers to come back, but even framing the structure takes time. This is not plug-and-play,” another official admitted.The project itself is modest in scale but critical in impact. With a budget allocation of Rs 65 lakh, the NMC plans to install green nets costing around Rs 4 lakh per junction. Each structure spans roughly 9 metres in width and 20 metres in length and comes with a 45-day maintenance clause. Yet, the delay has exposed deeper administrative gaps. Last summer, when the city was under an administrator’s rule, green nets were installed at eight major junctions well before peak heat set in. This year, despite having an elected general body in place, the proposal remained stuck for over a month.Sources attribute the lag to bureaucratic red tape and a lack of urgency. “Crores were spent on oath-taking ceremonies and renovation of chambers without approvals. Now the expenditure would be tabled before the standing panel anytime soon as post-approval, but a basic public relief measure like this got delayed,” a source said, adding that the ruling body could have fast-tracked the decision.For now, Nagpur’s commuters continue to bear the brunt — waiting at signals with no shade, as heat radiates off asphalt and concrete. The irony is hard to miss: a city battling extreme heat, stalled by both paperwork and polling.
