The Madhya Pradesh government has selected 18 sites to construct new roads leading to ghats along the Shipra River in preparation for Simhastha 2028 in Ujjain. These roads will link recently built ghats along a 29-km stretch of the river to facilitate the movement of the anticipated large number of devotees. Additionally, the project includes provisions for organized parking facilities and enhanced pedestrian access to bathing areas, as per an official announcement.
Development works related to Simhastha have been expedited by all departments, with Chief Minister Yadav actively monitoring progress and giving necessary directives. Divisional Commissioner Ashish Singh, along with Ujjain Collector Roshan Kumar Singh and officials from various departments, are inspecting the mela zone regularly to evaluate infrastructure needs and project advancement.
During a recent inspection, officials surveyed a five-kilometer stretch along the riverbank, starting from the bridge near Shri Vikrant Bhairav Temple. The identified 18 locations for approach roads are intended to connect the newly developed ghats up to the Unhel Road Bridge area, ensuring smooth connectivity between parking zones and bathing ghats for devotees during the mela period.
The plan also involves identifying around 140 additional locations for proposed connecting routes to the ghats, with instructions given to departments to kickstart preparatory work. Access points are set to include areas near Gau Ghat, behind the Vedhshala, Wakankar Bridge, Jeevan Khedi, and Shri Shani Temple, while inspections have covered the ghat area beneath Lal Pul Bridge. Both existing and newly constructed ghats are being integrated into the connectivity plan, with most access routes planned within a 200-meter radius of the riverbanks.
