A bulldozer razes an illegal construction and fruits from a roadside kiosk lay strewn on the pavement following a drive to remove encroachments around Badambadi bus terminus in Cuttack on Sunday.

Police launched a crackdown here to clear encroachments on public roads.

Sunday's eviction drive was a part of a month-long drive that has been planned to remove encroachments from areas that the police had previously declared as no vending and parking zones in August 2015.

Official sources that the crackdown at Badambadi was expected to play a crucial role in easing travel for passengers and commuters who had to face difficulty in passing the terminal. Encroachments, be it in the form of vending zones or illegal parking by autorickshaws, make it difficult for passengers to even enter the bus terminus.

"We have demolished more than 100 temporary kiosks that had encroached upon the land of the terminus. What startled us was that many licensed shops had illegally extended their shops," said assistant commissioner of police (traffic) P.K. Dalai.

Another senior police officer said that they had warned more than 50 autorickshaws who were obstructing the entry and exit routes to the bus stand.

"Today, we also warned the autorickshaw drivers. We will shortly start penalising them for obstructing vehicular movement," Dalai added.

Text by Vikash Sharma, pictures by Badrika Nath Das