One of the unmarked humps and (right) the blind curve on Ring Road that has become an accident-prone stretch in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Oct. 13: Two persons were killed in a road accident at the ‘deadly turn’ near the Mini Park on Kathajodi riverbank at Khannagar on Sunday early morning.

“The accident took place at 12.45am when Purna Chandra Chatoi and Dipak Parida were plying towards Khannagar traffic signal from Press Chhak on the motorcycle and were hit by an ambassador car that was coming from the wrong side,” police said.

“Based on the complaint filed by Prafulla Chandra Chatoi, the brother of the deceased, the driver of the car, Yudhistir Swain, had been arrested and was produced before a local court on Sunday,” said B.N. Pati, inspector in-charge of Badambadi police station.

Lack of significant measures to check the speed of vehicles on Ring Road has now become a major concern for commuters in the city.

The entire stretch between Viswanath Pandit Park and the Mini Park developed by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation at Khannagar has become prone to accidents.

Commuters allege that accidents are occurring at the particular stretch because of the sharp turn and lack of visibility, especially during the night. So far, more than six persons have died this year in road accidents on that stretch.

“Due to over speeding and the blind curve on Ring Road at Khannagar, it has become an accident-prone area. The commuters need to be extra cautious while driving on the road during the night,” said Jitendra Mohanty, who uses the stretch regularly.

Mohanty said the commissionerate police had earlier installed speed-breakers that were damaged subsequently. New humps have been constructed on both sides of the road. However, the commuters are unable to notice the humps during the night due to absence of proper marking and signage.

“There are no white-line marking on the humps. Efforts should be initiated to install reflectors at the particular curve to assist drivers in navigation,” said Ramesh Das, another commuter.

Earlier, the cops had put up various warning signs for commuters to restrict speed near the blind curve at Khannagar but it has failed to yield any result.

One of the senior officers of the commissionerate police said whether the accidents were occurring due to any defect in road engineering or because of the sharp turn or any other problem would be reviewed soon.

“The issue of frequent accidents at Khannagar would be taken up at the next traffic management committee meeting for necessary corrective measures,” said assistant commissioner of traffic police P.K. Dalai.

One of the traffic officials said: “Earlier, following a safety assessment of the Ring Road, humps were installed at several places, including Krushak bazaar and Khannagar, to restrict the speed of vehicles.”