Rourkela, Jan. 12: The unscientific speed breakers on city roads are causing immense difficulties to the motorists. Barring a few, which have been constructed on the newly laid roads, majority of them are a cause of concern.

The roads inside the city have humps at most of the vantage points. There are humps at the exit of all the roads that are feeding into the Ring Road from the residential areas. These humps are the leading cause of accidents, especially those riding and pillion-riding on two wheelers. There are many examples when two wheeler riders had met with serious accidents due to these humps, which are ill maintained and improperly marked.

'During night, especially if it is raining or foggy, one has to be very careful,' said Jitendra Dash, who stays in Jagda. 'Last month I almost lost my balance,' he said.

The humps require proper marking as well as maintenance. The markings are feebly visible. The height and the top surface of the humps are huge irritants. At some places, the humps have spread with the continuous movement of vehicles while at other places they are stiff.

'The height of the hump was misleading and I was riding my moped near the Sector 18 entrance. To my dismay, I fell down breaking my thighbone while trying to manoeuvre the hump,' said Dayanidhi Sethi, who stays near Balughat.

There are several such stories akin to that of Sethi. A lady who fell down near Sector 20, said: ' For us, these humps are like small traps.'

Rourkela Steel Plant's general manager (P&A) Prabhat Pradhan said: 'Generally, during the Durga Puja, we undertake the marking and maintenance of the humps. We have received complaints about these humps and hence we will be installing raised pedestrian markers (RPM) so that the roads become safe for motorists.'

Roads constructed and maintained by the Public Works Department are also dotted with humps. For example, the stretch between Ambedkar Chhak and Ring Road, which is barely 500-700 metres in length, has as many as 6 to 7 humps.

'The humps on this road at such close intervals are justified since there are schools on one side and residences on the other. But the humps should be properly done and maintained. The heights vary at each point and they are not properly marked,' said a teacher of Udit Nagar Government High School. He said that on a couple of occasions, students fell down while negotiating the humps in a hurry.

The case in Mahatab Road is no different. The road runs parallel to the Ring Road from Rourkela Municipal Corporation office till the Ring Road near Traffic Gate. It is a very busy road and passes through busy areas, but the humps do not have any markings.

Mohammad Idris, who stays near the steel plant site said: 'We have tried to draw the attention of the authorities for proper marking on the humps since it causes inconvenience to the riders, but no one seems to be listening.'

PWD executive engineer Deepak Tripathy could not be contacted for comments.