CUTTACK: Illegal parking of vehicles on Badambadi-Link Road is causing traffic snarls and inconveniencing hundreds of commuters even during idle hours. Besides, rampant encroachment and careless driving have worsened traffic problems in the Millennium City.
The 2.5-km stretch, which connects Madhupatna on NH-16 with Badambadi Bus Stand and acts as a channel for thousands of buses coming from various parts of the State, gets choked every day due to illegal parking. As per reports, three buses can easily cross each other at a time on one side of the road. But, due to severe traffic congestion, it often becomes difficult for a bus to cross another on the same route. The unruly bus and auto-rickshaw drivers are also responsible for the traffic congestion on the road.
Flouting the traffic rules, they stop their vehicles at will to carry or drop passengers anywhere on the busy road thereby congesting it and affecting the daily life of city residents. Though several stretches of the road have been declared as no-parking zones, buses and trucks are found parked on both sides of the road at anytime.
As per the decision of the Traffic Management Committee (TMC), the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) had developed a temporary parking place near Kathajodi railway halt which was inaugurated on March 11, 2015. Accordingly, direction was given for parking of private buses at the designated place.
Police had also started imposing fines on vehicles parked along the road violating the direction following which the illegal parking menace had come down to some extent. Later, the parking place was no longer in use due to defunct lights and poor condition of connected road. The buses again started parking along the road.
ACP of Traffic PK Dalai said a letter has been sent to the civic body requesting to repair the parking place immediately. Mayor of CMC Minakshi Behera, however, refused to have received any letter in this regard. “We will undertake necessary work for renovation of the parking place only after receiving the letter,” she added.