Ujjain Simhastha 2028
Ujjain Simhastha 2028: What Has Been Announced and Built
Madhya Pradesh is building new Shipra ghats, river works, roads, bridges and rail links for the Simhastha, and the Chief Minister has set Diwali 2027 as the deadline for all of them. This tracker lists each work with the latest thing the government has said about it, when it said it, and the source.
ProvisionalChecked on Sun 18 Oct 2026
The Simhastha is planned for 27 March to 27 May 2028, and no bathing date has been announced. For the story behind the biggest projects, read Ujjain Simhastha 2028: the works under way and what they mean.
The works tracker
Rows run from the river and ghats to roads and bridges, the Mahakal Lok corridor, rail and air, and the mela area. Status is one of four words: announced, approved, under way or completed. Budgets are the government’s own figures in crore of rupees.
| Work | Who announced or approved it | Status | Date of the latest official word | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Shipra ghats: about 29 km on both banks, from the Shani Temple to the Nagda bypass, Rs 778 crore. By 20 June 2026, 7 km of new ghats and 18.20 km of retaining walls were finished. See our guide to the Ujjain ghats. | State government; foundation stone laid on 31 May 2025. Progress given at a review with Union Minister Manohar Lal | Under way | 20 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 20 June 2026; MP Jansampark, 31 May 2025 |
| Upgrading the older ghats: about 7.8 km of existing permanent ghats, Rs 120 crore (approved in September 2025 as nearly 9 km at Rs 122 crore) | Cabinet Committee on Simhastha 2028; figures repeated by the Chief Minister | Under way | 27 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 27 June 2026; MP Jansampark, 2 September 2025 |
| Barrages on the Shipra: 21 barrages, Rs 85 crore, launched with the new ghats. We found no later progress figure. | State government; foundation stone laid on 31 May 2025 | Approved | 31 May 2025 | MP Jansampark, 31 May 2025 |
| Kanh diversion closed duct: a 30.15 km duct and tunnel to carry the Kanh river’s water around the city and release it below the Gambhir Dam, Rs 919.94 crore, due by September 2027. In June 2026 the head regulator was finished and 8.15 km of the 12 km tunnel had been dug. | State cabinet (revised approval, September 2024) | Under way | 20 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 20 June 2026; MP Jansampark, 24 September 2024 |
| Sevarkhedi-Silarkhedi project: stores monsoon water in the Silarkhedi reservoir and releases it into the Shipra so that the river keeps flowing, Rs 614.53 crore | State government (administrative approval) | Under way | 19 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 19 June 2026; MP Jansampark, 13 January 2025 |
| Hariyakhedi water supply scheme: new intake wells and treatment plants, 17 overhead tanks and a 708 km pipeline network for the city, Rs 1,133.67 crore, to take 24 months | Chief Minister performed the bhoomi pujan on 11 February 2026 | Approved | 19 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 19 June 2026; MP Jansampark, 11 February 2026 |
| New and wider bridges: 22 new bridges and the widening of existing ones, 17 over the river and 5 over railway lines, Rs 853.46 crore | Chief Minister, at a Simhastha workshop in Ujjain | Under way | 27 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 27 June 2026 |
| Footbridge for pilgrims: a separate bridge over the Shipra for people on foot | Chief Minister, at the ministerial committee on Simhastha | Announced | 7 April 2026 | MP Jansampark, 7 April 2026 |
| Hari Phatak to Chandukhedi road: 14.42 km of four-lane and six-lane road via Lalpur, Mullapura and Shankaracharya Square, with an extra bridge over the Shipra and a two-lane rail overbridge | Public Works Department, under the Central Road Infrastructure Fund; inspected by the Chief Minister | Under way | 27 September 2026 | MP Jansampark, 27 September 2026 |
| Second Freeganj bridge: a new bridge beside the existing Freeganj bridge | Bridge construction department; inspected by the Chief Minister | Under way | 10 July 2026 | MP Jansampark, 10 July 2026 |
| Elevated corridor: 5.30 km, Rs 945.20 crore, also to serve as another route to the Mahakal Temple | Chief Minister performed the bhoomi poojan | Approved | 19 August 2026 | MP Jansampark, 19 August 2026 |
| Widening city roads: stretches such as Gudri Square to Harsiddhi Pal and Mahakal Square to Kamri Marg were approved in April 2026. By 20 August 2026, 310 m of the 410 m Kanthal Square to Chhatri Square stretch had a new concrete road. In September the Chief Minister inspected widening from Neelganga. | Ministerial committee on Simhastha; inspections by the Chief Minister | Under way | 20 September 2026 | MP Jansampark, 20 September 2026; MP Jansampark, 20 August 2026; MP Jansampark, 7 April 2026 |
| MR-22 ghat road: a 12 km six-lane road from the Simhastha Bypass along the west bank of the Shipra, linking the ghats and temples, Rs 194 crore | Cabinet Committee on Simhastha 2028 | Approved | 2 September 2025 | MP Jansampark, 2 September 2025 |
| Indore-Ujjain six-lane highway: Rs 1,692 crore. The Chief Minister said 80% of the work was done. | Chief Minister | Under way | 19 August 2026 | MP Jansampark, 19 August 2026; MP Jansampark, 19 June 2026 |
| Indore-Ujjain greenfield road: about 48 km of new four-lane road, Rs 2,935 crore, from the Pitra Parvat area of Indore to the Simhastha Bypass near Chintaman Ganesh | Chief Minister and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar broke ground at Chandrawatiganj | Approved | 20 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 20 June 2026 |
| Ujjain-Jaora greenfield road: 98.73 km of four-lane road, Rs 5,017 crore, linking Ujjain to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, target December 2027 | Chief Minister performed the bhoomi poojan at Nagda | Approved | 10 July 2026 | MP Jansampark, 10 July 2026 |
| Other four-lane roads: Ujjain-Jhalawar (Rs 2,523 crore) and Ujjain-Maksi (Rs 351 crore) | State officials, at a review chaired by Union Minister Manohar Lal | Under way | 19 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 19 June 2026 |
| Shri Mahakal Lok, phase 1: the Mahakal Path with its 108 pillars and the plaza with its lotus pond, Rs 351 crore. Read more on our Mahakaleshwar page. | Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated it | Completed | 11 October 2022 | PIB, 11 October 2022; MP Jansampark (Hindi), 5 October 2023 |
| Shri Mahakal Lok, phase 2: works worth Rs 242.35 crore, including Shikhar Darshan and Koti Teerth, a covered underground path to Ganesh Mandapam, the Neelkanth Van and the temple Annakshetra. The state said the temple precinct grew from 2.87 to 47 hectares. | Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan dedicated it | Completed | 5 October 2023 | MP Jansampark (Hindi), 5 October 2023 |
| Ujjain rail bypass: an 8.60 km line from Nai Khedi to Chintaman Ganesh, Rs 189.04 crore, so that trains no longer have to reverse at Ujjain | Indian Railways approved it in February 2026; the Ministry of Railways notified it as a special railway project | Approved | 27 April 2026 | Gazette of India, 27 April 2026; MP Jansampark, 13 February 2026 |
| Seven stations upgraded: Ujjain, Nai Khedi, Chintaman, Panwasa, Mohanpura, Pingleshwar and Vikram Nagar. For trains today, see how to reach Ujjain. | Chief Minister, at a Simhastha workshop in Ujjain | Under way | 27 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 27 June 2026 |
| Fatehabad line: the Chief Minister said trains bound for Nagda no longer need to pass through Ujjain now that the Fatehabad track is in use | Chief Minister | Completed | 27 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 27 June 2026 |
| Ropeway from Ujjain station to the Mahakal Temple: 1.76 km, Rs 199 crore, 48 cabins. We found no official progress report after December 2024. | Divisional Commissioner and Collector, in a presentation to Union Minister J.P. Nadda | Under way | 1 December 2024 | MP Jansampark, 1 December 2024 |
| Dewas Gate transit hub: a multimodal hub at the Dewas Gate bus stand with a skywalk to Ujjain railway station | Ministerial committee on Simhastha | Approved | 7 April 2026 | MP Jansampark, 7 April 2026 |
| City buses and Ujjain Darshan: PM e-Bus services, 12 city routes under the Sugam Parivahan service (one of them Dewas Gate to Nanakheda), and a 27 km electric Ujjain Darshan circuit from Meghdoot Van parking past the main temples, the bus stand and the railway station | Chief Minister launched the services at Mahakal Lok | Completed | 27 September 2026 | MP Jansampark, 27 September 2026 |
| Ujjain airport at Datana-Matana: the airstrip is to become an airport under the RCS-UDAN scheme, starting with a 1,800 m runway. The state has signed an MoU with the Airports Authority of India and transferred about 120 acres; the environmental study was at the terms-of-reference stage in June 2026. Target: before the Simhastha. | State government and the Airports Authority of India | Approved | 14 September 2026 | MP Jansampark, 14 September 2026; MoEFCC committee minutes, June 2026 |
| Deadline for all works: Diwali 2027. An earlier direction, in September 2025, said December 2027. | Chief Minister | Announced | 7 April 2026 | MP Jansampark, 7 April 2026; MP Jansampark, 2 September 2025 |
| The whole programme: 148 projects worth over Rs 16,910 crore under review in Ujjain, Omkareshwar and seven other districts; 17 new projects worth Rs 491.66 crore approved that day | Cabinet Committee on Simhastha 2028 | Approved | 9 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 9 June 2026 |
| Simhastha Mela Authority: Jagdish Agrawal took charge as chairman. The Ujjain Divisional Commissioner, Ashish Singh, is the Simhastha Mela Officer. | State government | Completed | 25 August 2026 | MP Jansampark, 25 August 2026; MP Jansampark, 14 May 2026 |
| Mela office and command centre: a command and control centre, approved at Rs 139.14 crore, to watch the city and the mela area through CCTV, drones and data, housed in a new Simhastha Mela office building (Rs 29.84 crore) | Ministerial committee on Simhastha; the building’s bhoomi pujan was set for 17 March 2026 | Under way | 27 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 27 June 2026; MP Jansampark, 7 April 2026; MP Jansampark, 16 March 2026 |
| Approach roads to the ghats: officials marked 18 places for approach roads to the new ghats up to the Unhel Road bridge, and 140 places for connecting routes along 36 km of riverbank | Simhastha Mela Officer and Ujjain Collector, on inspections on foot | Announced | 14 May 2026 | MP Jansampark, 14 May 2026 |
| Parking sectors: 30 parking sectors over more than 3,000 hectares, with more parking in neighbouring districts | State officials, at a review chaired by Union Minister Manohar Lal | Announced | 19 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 19 June 2026 |
| Power for the city and mela area: new substations at Triveni Vihar, Hasampura, Valmiki Dham, Dudhtalai, Chardham and Nanakheda; about Rs 994 crore provided across schemes | Energy Department, at a review chaired by Union Minister Manohar Lal | Under way | 19 June 2026 | MP Jansampark, 19 June 2026 |
| Tent city: a tent city on the lines of the Rann Utsav in Kutch. No site, operator or booking channel has been named. | Chief Minister | Announced | 2 February 2026 | MP Jansampark, 2 February 2026 |
| Simhastha dates window: 27 March to 27 May 2028. No bathing date has been announced; see our dates page. | Chief Minister, first at a planning meeting in March 2024 and again in June 2026, as reported | Announced | 27 June 2026 | Deccan Chronicle, 27 June 2026; Free Press Journal, 6 March 2024 |
How to read this tracker
- Announced means a plan, a direction or a statement. Approved means money has been sanctioned or a foundation stone laid. Under way means the government says it is being built. Completed means it has been finished or opened.
- Announced is not the same as built. A sanction, a foundation stone or a deadline tells you what the government intends, not what will be ready when you arrive in 2028.
- Figures can change from one release to the next. The new ghats have been given as 29 km, 29.15 km and about 30 km, and the upgrade of the older ghats as nearly 9 km and 7.8 km.
- We use only the Government of Madhya Pradesh, the Government of India, Indian Railways and news reports that quote officials. A row changes only when a newer official word appears.
- Bathing days, which ghats will be open on the main days, and traffic and parking plans for visitors are not announced. Check the dates page before you plan, and book only what you can cancel.
- Seen a newer official notice? Tell us through contact and corrections.
Questions people ask
Will the new ghats be ready for Simhastha 2028?
The state says all Simhastha works are to be finished by Diwali 2027. By 20 June 2026, about 7 km of the planned 29.15 km of new ghats and 18.20 km of retaining walls were complete. We will update this tracker when the state publishes new figures.
Does Ujjain have an airport for the Simhastha?
Not yet. The state is turning the Datana-Matana airstrip into an airport with a 1,800 m runway and aims to finish it before the Simhastha. For now the nearest airport is Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in Indore; see how to reach Ujjain.
When will the Simhastha bathing days be announced?
No date has been given. The Simhastha is planned for 27 March to 27 May 2028, and a 2024 state plan proposed the main bathing days between 9 April and 8 May without naming them. We add each date to the dates page when it is announced.