Madhupatna junction in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, April 24: Police have failed to streamline traffic at Madhupatna Square, the converging point for the city’s traffic with the National Highway-5.

The highway connects the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

A senior traffic official said four home guards were deployed in two shifts to check illegal stoppage of buses and autorickshaws that loaded passengers on the busy road.

“We are taking necessary steps to check such violations and the violators are fined on a regular basis,” said assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Krushna Samal.

Sources said that on an average, nearly eight to 10 buses and over 15 autorickshaws were penalised, while a fine ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 was being collected from them for picking passengers from Madhupatna Square by halting their vehicles on the road.

However, illegal parking, apart from loading of passengers by autorickshaws and buses, has worsened things at the square as commuters are finding it hard to negotiate the congestion on the busy stretch.

“It gets tough to travel towards OMP Square from Badambadi side via Madhupatna during the peak hours. As many buses and autorickshaws are engaged in loading passengers, it leaves hardly any space for the commuters,” said Pradip Behera, a commuter.

Behera said that though the traffic police station was located few meters away, officials took no measure to check traffic violations, often leading to accidents here.

Though the commuters use a narrow approach road next to Madhupatna police station to avoid the rush on the highway, it has also failed to solve the problem.

The approach road serves as a lifeline for the residents living on both sides of the highway that passes through Madhupatna.

“There is absolutely no way one can escape the traffic jam here. This is problematic for those intending to move towards Sikharpur, SCB Medical College and Hospital, Jagatpur and Manguli on the highway from the Bhubaneswar side,” said Sagar Pradhan, a local resident.