Cuttack, Dec. 12: The termination of city bus services from the residential areas of Markatnagar has created resentment among the local residents and daily commuters.

Commuters are now facing problems to avail of the bus service that was earlier extended up to Markatnagar, the satellite township developed by the Cuttack Development Authority.

"The service helped hundreds of commuters as they could board buses at a close distance from their homes. Now, we are walking at least a kilometre to board buses, which are at present plying from the Ring Road," said Laxminarayan Sharma, a resident of CDA sector 11.

Sharma further said elderly people were spending about Rs10-15 extra on auto-rickshaws to travel from their homes to the Ring Road from various sectors of Markatnagar.

Private bus operator Dream Team Shahara had stopped its services in the residential areas of Markatnagar after a police crack down last week.

The traffic police had started imposing fine as a new high court order had restricted the movement of heavy vehicles, including city buses, in residential areas.

The private operator also witnessed a sharp drop in the number of passengers during the last week.

A senior official of DTS said they have incurred a loss about Rs 30,000 to 34,000 a day because of the decline in the number of passengers.

"Our business has registered a drop by at least 20 to 30 per cent. We have already written to the state government in this regard and we are waiting for further court orders. We will be forced to suspend our services, if we are not allowed to operate from the residential areas," the officer said.

"I used to travel by bus from CDA to Bhubaneswar, but now, I use my two-wheeler as there are no identified stops and no information is available about the timings," said Kishore Patnaik, who works at a private company in Bhubaneswar.

Patnaik said commuters now have to spend about Rs 120 to 150 extra to cover a distance of 28-30km because of fuel charges for travelling in two-wheelers.

Incidents of snatching have been reported from CDA with people travelling in auto-rickshaws or using their own transport.

The Markatnagar Residents' Association is also upset because of the termination of bus services. "Residents are either walking or taking auto-rickshaws to reach the Ring Road. We will file a petition in the court for the review of the high court order," said president of the residents' association Gopal Krushna Mohanty.