Traffic congestion at Tinkonia Bagicha in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Aug. 22: Chaos at several streets and crossings in the Millennium City continues to trouble commuters, despite efforts by the authorities to streamline traffic.

One such commuters’ nightmare is the city’s Tinkonia Bagicha crossing where people find it hard to cross the road.

The Tinkonia Bagicha crossing is the converging point for traffic coming from Choudhry Bazaar, Darghabazar, Sutahat and Buxi Bazaar. There is utter chaos here during peak hours because no traffic police personnel is deployed here.

“There is utter chaos at the crossing which has become an accident-prone zone because traffic constable has not been deployed there. Though there is hardly any congestion, the commuters are always at risk while moving from the Tinkonia Bagicha side to Sutahat and vice-versa,” said Saurabh Chaky, 40, a shop owner.

Chaky said there was an identified parking lot but it has failed to solve parking issues because many people still parked their vehicles on either side of the road, sometimes causing problems for other commuters and such violators were rarely fined by traffic officials.

There is heavy rush on the entire stretch from Choudhry Bazaar to Buxi Bazar via Dargha Bazaar, Tinkonia Bagicha and Baropathar. Traffic from other places also converge on the main road through various small junctions including the Tinkonia Bagicha. Local residents feel that adequate measures should be taken by traffic officials to ensure the safety of commuters who are always at risk at such crossings.

“Apart from the deployment of traffic constables or home guards, there should be installation of plastic moulded humps at major crossings in the city. These humps not will act as speed-breakers but will also provide some time to the people on either side to cross over,” said Ashok Das, 46, a commuter.

Das said such plastic humps were a must at major crossings such as Seminary Chhak, Haripur Road and Tinkonia Bagicha crossings.

On the other hand, traffic officials said adequate measures had been taken to regulate rush on prominent streets in the city.

“Steps were recently initiated towards making the roads encroachment-free at Bajrakabti, Dolmundai, Choudhry Bazaar and Buxi Bazaar by launching eviction drives. Similarly, adequate measures are also being taken to streamline traffic,” said an official.

There had been a significant rise in the number of traffic personnel deployed at various unmanned crossings in the city, the official added.