Cuttack, March 2: Police today launched a crackdown to clear encroachments from the approach road to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Ranihat here.

A joint squad led by the police and including officials from the civic body, development authority, electricity department and the regional transport officer, aimed to streamline traffic movement, especially for ambulances.

Earlier, critical patients coming to SCB from OMP and College Square sides had to manoeuvre congestion at Ranihat Canal Road.

Over 35 temporary kiosks blocked the thoroughfare connecting College Square with Mangalabag near Ranihat Canal Road. The joint squad cleared all these kiosks during the drive. The squad also collected nearly Rs 10,000 in fines for illegal encroachment of public road .

"We carried out the drive without any opposition from local residents. This was one of the major drives that we launched to ensure smooth traffic at Ranihat," said assistant commissioner of police (traffic) P.K. Dalai.

Local residents also welcomed the crackdown on illegal squatters and demanded for concrete measures to check illegal parking along the route from Ranihat Canal Road to the cardiology department of SCB Medical College and Hospital on the western end.

"A lot of pathology and other diagnostic centres have come up on the route. However, there is an absence of adequate parking provisions leading to illegal parking," said local resident Subhankar Das.

Das, however, alleged that though the police had introduced one-way traffic by diverting autorickshaws and private cars coming from the SCB side via Mochi Chhak towards Ranihat Canal Road, it had failed to put a check on congestion.

Senior officials of the police, on the other hand, claimed it was practically impossible to ensure discipline on the road as there was a heavy flow of patients on the particular route.

According to commuters, steps taken to set up a dedicated parking lot near Ranihat Canal Road failed to ease congestion owing to encroachments.

"We have also cleared encroachments from the two dedicated parking lots, including one in front of Hind Cinema that had turned into an illegal vending zone," Dalai added.

The move is now likely to ease parking related issues, particularly at Ranihat that connects Mangalabag, College Square and Professorpara.

According to a police official, the department had already issued warnings to owners of pathological and diagnostic centres to ensure parking within the white lines marked on either sides of the road.