Bhubaneswar: Ill-maintained median plantations on roads across the city are posing a threat to the lives and limbs of commuters and pedestrians here.

The wild growth of the plants blocks the view of commuters at some places, exposing them to accidents. The overgrown tress have also made the roads less safe for pedestrians.

Moreover, the tree guards, which were installed while planting the saplings, lie broken due to the wild growth of plants. These broken iron guards occupy road space making commuting difficult for the riders.

These overgrown plantations dot the medians between Fire Station and Delta squares, Delta and Stewart School squares, CRPF and DAV squares, DAV and Power House squares, Power House and Nayapalli squares, Acharya Vihar and Sainik School squares, Bidyut Marg and Janpath.

"These median plantations enhances the city's beauty and also safeguards the environment. Therefore, the saplings should be maintained properly. But the lack of maintenance has made the plants to overgrow. This has made commuting difficult for us," said Nayapalli resident Anish Mishra.

He suggested that the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation should maintain the plants on a periodic basis.

Wild growth of plants on medians has led to minor accidents at various places in the city. "The zebra crossings are here for namesake. We are forced to jump across the medians to cross the road. Last week, while crossing a median near Shastri Nagar, a bike hit me. The overgrown plants had blocked my view of the oncoming traffic," said Shastri Nagar resident Nihar Nanda.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, however, said that they had engaged special bush cutters to maintain these plants.

"I will personally look into the matter and direct the agencies to trim the trees properly. If they don't do their job properly, we will take strict action," said Jena.