Badambadi bus stand in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, July 2: Police have proposed a new route for the Bhubaneswar and Puri-bound buses that depart from Badambadi.

At a high-level meeting of the traffic management committee held recently, the cops have decided to allow the Puri and Bhubaneswar-bound buses to move towards National Highway No. 5 via Khan Nagar on Ring Road.

Earlier, the buses used to take a U-turn from Badambadi crossing and move towards the highway via Link Road and Madhupatna Chowk.

The new route is likely to be made operational after discussion with various stakeholders, including the bus owners’ association. Besides, the cops have also proposed to relocate Puri and Bhubaneswar bus stand to the main Badambadi bus terminus for better management of the buses on the proposed new route from the city.

The Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Paradip bus stands will subsequently operate from Puri and Bhubaneswar bus stands. “The main objective is to check congestion on the busy Badambadi, Link Road and Madhupatna Chhak areas by diverting bulk of the buses on the highway via Khan Nagar on the Ring Road side,” said deputy commissioner of police Sanjeev Arora.

Arora said that all the buses originating from Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Paradip bus stands would be allowed to move towards Link Road and then towards their respective destinations via Madhupatna Chhak.

Sources said that more than 250 buses (Puri and Bhubaneswar bound) would be diverted towards the highway via Khan Nagar.

At present, the entire 2.5-km-stretch of road from Badambadi to Madhupatna Chhak is choked owing to illegal parking and stoppages of buses on the main road. More than 100 idle buses can be found parked on both sides of the road round the clock, creating problems in vehicular movement in the region. “The move will be helpful for commuters who will be able to easily move towards Bhubaneswar via Madhupatna Chhak without being stuck on traffic congestion. Earlier, the conductors used to pick passengers by halting the buses on the road, which used to create a long queue of vehicles waiting behind them,” said Saiprakash Das, a commuter.

Das said that the problem of congestion had also assumed particularly at Madhupatna Chhak owing to the frequent movement of heavy vehicles that converged at one point.