A pedestrian crosses a busy road devoid of zebra crossing in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, June 28: The zebra crossing at Vani Vihar Square is barely visible, washed away by rain year after year.

However, no one seems to bother except the pedestrians like Kalandi Behera. “I have been standing here for the past 10 minutes to cross the road. I just can’t see the zebra stripes,” said Behera waiting at Vanivihar to catch a bus to Cuttack.

Same is the case with other traffic intersections of the city, including Rupali Square and Big Bazar Traffic Square. Pedestrians are seen confused while crossing the road each time the traffic flow halts.

“Though the police officers impose fines for violating the zebra crossing norms, no one seems to ensure that the stripes are visible there at these crossings,” said Chitta Ranjan Mishra, a Saheed Nagar resident. Mishra remains worried about the safety and security of pedestrians in a scenario where the number of two-wheelers and four-wheelers has gone up with no thought being spared for the people who still prefer to foot it.

For the record, the number of vehicles plying in the city has increased at a rate of 20 percent in the last two years when about 1,20,000 new vehicles have been registered here. However, increase in the vehicle population notwithstanding people continue to be indifferent to the safety regulations such as, mandatory use of helmets and seatbelts.

However, it is the pedestrians who face the biggest threat, chiefly on account of either the absence of zebra crossings or their violation. The danger areas include the stretch between Vani Vihar and Master Canteen, which has shopping malls along it. The other sensitive areas include Rupali Square and the Big Bazar traffic intersection. The situation is difficult for physically challenged persons. The newly erected road dividers have added to problems of the physically challenged citizens. “I have to walk up to the Big Bazar Traffic Square or the Maharshi College Square to cross the road to avoid jumping over the dividers,” said Rashmi Ranjan Samal, a Satya Nagar resident.

The ongoing road expansion work in some of the areas also poses a threat, as the roads at most places are covered with loose stones and other construction materials. “Thankfully, the schools are closed. The roads have become a nightmare for children,” said Swarnalaxmi Jena, a Satyanagar resident whose son studies in a school located there. She suggested footbridges at crowded places for the pedestrians’ benefit.

Significantly, many people are not aware of importance of zebra crossing. “I do not know what it stands for. I use my instincts while crossing a road,” said Naba Kishore Pradhan, a Bapuji Nagar resident.

According to the traffic department, the remarking of zebra crossings is not possible immediately owing to the ongoing road expansion work. “Once the work is over, we will ask the roads and buildings division to do this,” said a senior traffic police officer.

The roads and buildings department hopes that the road expansion work on the Janpath Road would be over by the end of June when the location of the traffic posts would change. “Once the construction work comes to an end, the zebra crossings will be redrawn,” said Manoranjan Tripathy, executive engineer of roads and buildings division I.

Regarding the requirement of zebra crossings apart from the traffic posts, chief engineer of the roads and buildings division Bijan Kumar Behera said: “We will have zebra crossings at all important places with the approval of police after completion of the road expansion work.”

On the other hand, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has come up with an idea to construct two footbridges to address the problem of pedestrians. “The corporation has approved the execution of two footbridges near RD Women’s College and Master canteen,” said Dillip Routrai, public relation officer of the corporation.