BHUBANESWAR: Absence of street lighting and speeding by motorists have raised the number of accidents on Cuttack-Puri highway and turned the route into a death trap. Majority of night-time road casualties have been reported at places without street lighting.
It has been over three years since the Puri bypass road was opened for public, but street lighting on the stretch from Hi-Tech Square to Lingipur Square is yet to be installed.
There are several intersections like Pandra, Koradakanta, Kesora, Tankapani Road and Lingipur where the local commuters mingle with the speeding highway traffic. On the other hand, movement of bovines, stray animals and pedestrians makes the road vulnerable to fatal incidents.
On Friday, two girls in their early 20s were killed and three others sustained injuries in an accident near Lingipur Square.
While police are investigating into the case, one of the occupants of the ill-fated vehicle said a pedestrian emerged from a bylane and the driver had to apply brakes immediately. "We were hit by a vehicle from the rear side and the car overturned multiple times near the Square," the youth added.
Similarly, the body of a man with multiple injuries was found near Pandra Square on April 10. Police investigation has revealed that the man was killed after being hit by a four wheeler on the previous night. Accidents have been occurring frequently on the stretch since 2014 after the Puri bypass road became operational, said Chakradhar Muduli, a resident of Koradakanta.
When the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) took up the project, the provision of street lighting was not even incorporated in it.
While the contract has been terminated now, the NHAI has no latest plan to install street lamps on the stretch. "The decision to install street lighting on the road needs to be approved at the headquarters level and we are examining the matter, General Manager of NHAI D Sarangi said.