PARADIP:Illegal parking seems to have become a norm in Paradip and Jagatsinghpur towns. Two-wheelers and four-wheelers including heavy vehicles can be seen parked at ‘no parking’ zones in both the towns at any point of time in the day. Every month, the local administration marks parking and no parking zones in the towns after calculating extent of traffic congestion. This, though, is rarely followed by people.
In Jagatsinghpur town, the administration has marked the Khuntia shop area (a commercial hub), Thana Chhack-Town Hall road, Jagatsinghpur town to Allipingal Bazaar and Jagatsinghpur-Jaipur road as no parking zones. However, these areas continue to be the most congested spots in the town.
Although parking of vehicles is not permitted in a distance of 50 metres from important junctions to let vehicles turn smoothly, this norm is also not followed. Similar is the situation in Paradip where traffic jams are a regular affair. Illegal parking of two-wheelers and heavy vehicles chokes routes like Zero Point to Atharbanki, Paradip Oil terminal to Kargil Chhack and Cuttack-Paradip State Highway 12. Regional Transport Officer Bijaya Kumar Nayak blamed the police for not taking stringent action against the violators. Offenders go unpunished in the absence of police monitoring, he said.