The present truck terminal near Rasulgarh, and (below) the Gangapada NH toll gate, a landmark near the site of the proposed terminal. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 31: The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has decided to set up a new truck terminal for the city in the Gangapada area along the NH-5. This, the authorities believe, will help reduce congestion on the highway.

The district magistrate, Khurda, has already earmarked five acres of land near Gangapada and forwarded the file to the authorities concerned to speed up the execution of the project.

“The decision about acquiring land for the project was taken in the presence of commissioner-cum-secretary of the housing and urban development department and the vice-chairman of the BDA. We are now waiting for the nod of the revenue divisional commissioner,” said Khurda collector Hrushikesh Tripathy today.

“Currently, a place near the Rasulgarh Square is being used by the truck operators, but the new location near Gangapada along the national highway is expected to be a better alternative,” he added.

BDA vice-chairman Deoranjan Kumar Singh said that the new terminus will be a modern facility and it will have adequate lighting, security and sanitation facilities to accommodate all types of trucks.

“Currently, the city has nearly 500 trucks. But many more trucks ply on the highway. The new facility would be used by all of them,” he added.

“The Rasulgarh location used by the operators has no facility for a truck terminus. But as the city has grown in all directions and the planning has percolated to micro-level through implementation of zonal development plan, the relocation of the truck terminus has become necessary,’’ he added.

The City Management Group (CMG), which meets regularly to take decision on various development issues relating to the capital, has asked the Khurda collector to hand over possession of the land to BDA so that works for constructing the terminus can be set up quickly.

However, members of the Bhubaneswar Truck Owners Association (BTOA) are not happy with the BDA’s idea of setting up the terminus at Gangapada.

“For the inter-state and inter-district trucks, the new location of the terminus near Gangapada will be a feasible one, but for the intra-district trucks transporting goods from railway sheds at Satyanagar, Mancheswar and various warehouses inside the city, having a terminus on the outskirts located in Gangapada will not be a practical idea,” said general secretary of BTOA Pranab Kumar Parija.

“Out of the 500 members of the local association, around 350 are using the present terminal near Rasulgarh-Mancheswar industrial area. Besides, there is vacant land available around the area and the authorities can give land in the same locality. Recently, a portion of the area was allotted to a private hotelier, so why do not they consider our claim?” he asked.

Meanwhile, the commissionerate police has decided to divert all heavy vehicles from Pitapalli via Chandaka towards Cuttack to reach Gopalpur from January 1. The decision was taken to minimise road accidents on the highway.

Heavy vehicles will be allowed inside the city only from 9pm to 7am in accordance with the twin city police commissionerate regulation of 2008. Violators to this norm will be fined up to a maximum of Rs 1,000 as per Section 96 of the Orissa Urban Police Act, 2003.