Bhubaneswar, April 19: Abhijit Swain, a college student, was trying to cross the road near Satya Nagar Kali temple through a cut along the divider a few days ago when a passing vehicle hit him. He had to be admitted to a hospital with serious injuries.

Local residents say that the area has been witnessing accidents almost on a daily basis, as a large number of people use this particular cut along the divider. About 10 minor accidents have taken place here in the last month.

Interestingly, the traffic department does not supervise this cut.

People wanting to cross this road can do so either at the Kharavela Nagar traffic post or the road cut in front of a petrol pump, which is merely 100 metres. However, a large number of people cross this road from this particular spot, thereby risking their lives.

“It has turned in to an accident-prone zone with minor accidents taking place every now and then. There is no reason for people to cross the road from this particular spot because it hardly saves any time,” said Madhumita Biswal, a commuter.

The chances of accidents are more during the day because of the presence of three schools in the locality. Even four-wheelers use this cut to cross the road during rush hour.

According to the traffic department, the responsibility of closing road cuts is with the public works department (PWD).

“While planning a road, the PWD is supposed to decide where the road cuts would be located. Action would be initiated if we receive complaints from local residents,” said a senior official of the commissionerate traffic.

The location of the cut is significant because it is between the road connecting Vani Vihar Square and Master Canteen Square and there are residential colonies on both sides. Around 300 people cross the road everyday through the road cut.

On the other hand, the executive engineer of roads and buildings division-I, Manoranjan Tripathy, said they only closed road cuts after they received complaints from the traffic department. “We cannot close the cut on our own. The traffic department needs to inform us,” said Tripathy.

The stretch between Vani Vihar Square and Master Canteen Square, which is being converted into an eight-lane road, has four road cuts that pose danger to the commuters. Road expansion work, along with piling of construction materials, have been major worries for the residents over the last two years.

“The authorities must close the road cuts or deploy traffic personnel at these points for safety,” said Gadadhar Nayak, a resident of Saheed Nagar.