(Top) The divider that led to seven accidents in the last two months. After The Telegraph report, the divider was demolished. (Below) The place (circled in red) where the divider stood. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, April 21: The authorities of roads and buildings division of the public works department (PWD) have demolished a road divider near the Capital High School, which had caused about seven accidents in the last two months.

On April 15, The Telegraph had reported about the hazards caused by the divider. Executive engineer Manoranjan Tripathy had assured then that the contractor, who had built the divider, would be asked to remove it as it was against road safety norms.

“The divider could have been constructed there only after completing the roadwork. But it was built even before the road was completed. Instead, a white line could have been drawn to show division of the road. But the contractor had adopted a wrong approach. So, he was asked to remove the faulty structure which he did within 48 hours,” Tripathy added.

The report in The Telegraph dated April 15

Traffic officers of the city police had also expressed surprise over the sudden erection of an obstacle in the middle of the road when the construction work was still in progress.

They had also requested the PWD authorities to ask the contractor to remove the divider.

“The PWD officials have done a good job by ensuring removal of the divider. Once the roadwork is complete one can think about having a divider,” added a senior traffic officer.

The Exhibition Ground, Ekamra Haat, Capital High School, St Joseph High School, Biju Patnaik State Youth Welfare Forum, Bhima Bhoi School for the Blind, branch office of the Life Insurance Corporation and hostels of the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology are dependent on the road. So, the sudden erection of the divider in the middle of the road had created serious traffic problem in the entire area, especially for students and people going to the Exhibition Ground.

A devotee of Thakur Nigamananda said: “The contractor concerned should have applied foresight while executing the engineering work. The innocent school children and people coming from the Housing Board Square were the major victims of the faulty structure.”

On April 13, two women travelling in a car met with an accident at the spot. A team of traffic police and local youths rescued the women and the car was lifted from the spot with the help of a crane.

Earlier, in March a sports utility vehicle met with a serious accident because of the divider and two days later a biker fell on the same spot in front of the Capital High School.