BERHAMPUR: Traffic management in the Kabisuryanagar town in Ganjam district has gone for a toss. Residents are forced to commute on the narrow state highway (SH) which leads to all the important offices and schools in town thus leading to traffic snarls. Though the stretch of road that witnesses vehicular congestion is 947-meter-long only, it causes inconvenience to regular travellers who get held up for long. Even ambulances get stuck for hours to cross the patch.
While both sides of the SH have been made encroachment free, no steps were taken to widen the patch. As per reports, Rs 43 crore had been released under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) last year to double the road width from Budhambo Chowk to Gudiali and Dhanei to Kainphulia Chowk that includes the Kabisuryanagar stretch. But PWD sources said the road widening cannot be taken up in this particular stretch as lands on both sides are privately owned.
Meanwhile, residents have urged the administration to acquire the private lands to widen the road. Social activist and advocate B Sankar Patra and several organisations have also written to various authorities including the Chief Minister, Governor and Prime Minister to intervene into the matter for the larger interest of the town dwellers.