A major traffic jam brought the Damoh–Jabalpur State Highway to a standstill on Saturday night, leaving thousands stranded — including an ambulance carrying a heart patient. The congestion was caused by wedding processions and guests blocking the highway due to inadequate parking at nearby marriage gardens. Police have now registered an FIR against six venue operators. With a large number of weddings taking place on Saturday, every marriage garden along the route had been booked. Visitors to these venues parked their vehicles on both sides of the road, creating long queues of traffic on the State Highway. As a result, the highway was fully shut for over an hour. Videos recorded by commuters stuck in the gridlock went viral on social media, highlighting the extent of the chaos. BJP District Vice President Manish Tiwari also shared a video, stating:’ The situation due to the jam was extremely bad. Three ambulances were stuck. One had a heart patient who had suffered an attack and was being referred from Damoh to Jabalpur.” Traffic cleared after 90 minutes Upon receiving information, Damoh CSP H.R. Pandey rushed to the spot with a police team. After roughly one and a half hours of continuous effort, traffic movement was restored. CSP Pandey reported the negligence of the marriage garden operators to SP Shrutkirti Somvanshi. Acting on the SP’s directions, police registered FIRs under IPC sections 270 (negligent act likely to spread infection) and 285 (negligent handling of fire or combustible matter) against all six garden operators. Pandey confirmed that the ambulance carrying the cardiac patient was safely extricated from the jam. Notices are now being issued to all the operators. Action against 6 marriage gardens A report will be sent to the Collector through the SP to initiate further action as per regulations. The six marriage gardens named in the FIR are: BJP leader highlights police mismanagement In his video, BJP leader Manish Tiwari criticised the authorities, saying- He personally helped reroute two ambulances, one stuck near Marutal Bypass and another trapped 100 metres inside the jam, by directing them through Chopda Khurd village. He claimed that such incidents occur frequently, but the administration fails to take strict preventive action. Post navigation 1 bag of cement bought for ₹1.92 lakh in Chhindwara:Only 15 pillars built, plumbing bills in lakhs; Temple shown as community building Bhind police accused of custodial assault:5 victims unable to stand in court, judge rejects medical report, orders panel re-examination
