Cuttack, Dec. 26: Think twice before taking the Dolmundai-Pithapur road during rush hour. Chances are that you would be stuck in traffic jam here for a while.

The stretch has turned into a vending zone with the lack of enforcement by the traffic police. As a result, utter chaos prevails on the stretch that is among the busiest in the city.

Of late, the entire 2-km stretch has become a shoppers' paradise with traders offering heavy discounts on a variety of items - mainly to clear their old stocks. Consequently, there remains a heavy rush on the main road, and it now takes almost 30 minutes to cover the 2km distance from Dolmundai to Choudhry Bazar via Pithapur, Jhola Sahi and Nandi Sahi.

"It is almost a week that there has been acute congestion on the stretch mostly in the evening. As bulk of the road space is being used by vendors to display their products, it is affecting the movement of traffic," said Minaketan Dash, a commuter.

He said there was a similar chaos last year because of the annual clearance sale by almost every shop on this route that led to widespread resentment among the commuters.

The Dolmundai-Choudhry Bazar route via Pithapur acts as a major thoroughfare and a connecting link to Haripur, Badambadi, Seminary Chhak, Dargha Bazar, Bangali Sahi and other areas, including the Ring Road.

Commuters alleged that keeping in view the rush and acute congestion on the route in mind, the police had clamped the one-way rule to streamline vehicular traffic in September.

Local residents, on the other hand, claimed that the one-way traffic so far had helped to check congestion on this particular route as all the three and four-wheelers were being diverted from Pithapur to Dolmundai via Haripur Road. "We have no problem with the annual clearance sale that is now going on in our locality. But the traders and vendors should ensure that there is no encroachment and obstruction of the main road," said local resident Dilip Pradhan.

Assistant commissioner of police (traffic) P.K. Dalai said more than 15 persons had been fined for encroaching on the Dolmundai-Choudhry Bazar road last year during their annual clearance sale.

"We have already asked the officials of local police station to take necessary measures to put a check on illegal obstruction of the main road," said Dalai.