Illegal parking on the divider of Ring Road in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, June 6: The ever-decreasing number of parking spaces here has become a major cause for concern for residents of the Millennium City.

Rampant crackdown on illegal parking spaces has only added to the woes of commuters. As a result, these days most commuters park their vehicles on concrete road dividers across the city.

Many vehicles can be found parked on the concrete road dividers along the entire stretch of Ring Road from Matamatha till the area behind S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, where a number of private nursing homes and diagnostic centres have come up.

Owing to lack of parking facilities, people visiting these private nursing homes and clinics and other commuters are parking their vehicles on the road dividers, causing a lot of inconvenience to traffic on the busy road.

“We have no option but to park our vehicles on the divider as there is no parking space here. Moreover, the vehicles parked on the roadsides are being towed away by the traffic officials,” said an official of a private nursing home, on condition of anonymity.

Not just road dividers, vehicles are also being parked on the footpaths causing a lot of problems for pedestrians.

“Parking of vehicles, including two and four-wheelers, on the footpath is causing a lot of problems as there is no space for pedestrians and joggers who usually go out for evening walks from Matamatha to Jobra Park everyday. Besides, parking on the road divider is hazardous and may result in serious accidents,” said Sasmita Biswal, a local resident.

Terming parking of vehicles on the road dividers ‘illegal’, traffic sources said such parking is defeating the very purpose of such dividers.

“Due to lack of initiatives towards the maintenance of road dividers by the irrigation department, people have started using the space to park their vehicles, which is illegal,” said an official.

Lack of proper barricading facilities and maintenance has reduced the road dividers to mere structures. Steps will be taken to ensure that road dividers are not used for parking for vehicles, the official said.

On the other hand, officials of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) said steps were being taken for creation of new parking spaces in different parts of the city.

“At present, there are around 20 identified parking lots and the sites for the construction of 22 parking spaces have been identified. Steps are being taken for construction of the proposed parking lots in the city,” said Ashutosh Samal, secretary of CMC.