Ongoing constuction work of culvert and drain leads to traffic chaos in Ranihat. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, July 20: Construction work of a drain and culvert has choked the flow of traffic at Ranihat road, one of the busiest roads in the city.

It has been more than a couple of months that work on the drain started. The drain extends up to Mangalabag.

Although most of the work on the drain has been completed, construction of the culvert, which is being done in patches, has compounded commuters’ woes.

“We have been facing problems due to construction work on the main road at Ranihat for about two months now. It is one of the busiest roads in the city. Due to the work on the culvert, very little space has been left for commuters to cross the road,” said Amarendra Behera, 50, a local resident.

According to Behera, a small opening has been left for commuters to cross the road from the College Square side towards Mangalabag and Bajrakabati road.

For the commuters, Ranihat acts as a link between College Square, railway station, Mangalabag and Buxi Bazar. Usually there is heavy rush on the road during peak hours.

The roads and buildings department is carrying out the construction work.

Many residents have questioned the rationale behind constructing a drain and culvert during the rainy season.

“Such kind of construction work should be stopped during the day. It should be carried out at night,” said Ranjan Bardhan, 52, a commuter.

Even traffic officials admit that construction work during the day is affecting the flow of traffic.

“Though we had advised officials of the roads and buildings department to carry out the construction work at night, no step has been taken yet. Keeping in view the inconvenience, we would soon write a letter to the authorities to seek permission from the police before carrying out construction work,” said a senior traffic officer.

“We have deployed additional manpower to regulate the rush on the road and at Medical road through which traffic from Mangalabag is being diverted towards College Square,” the officer added.

Despite several attempts, officials of the roads and buildings department could not be contacted.