Vehicles parked on the road near Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das Park at Pokhariput. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, March 23: A park in Pokhariput area is causing traffic problems as those who visit the place, park their vehicles on the road connecting Pokhariput and Khandagiri Square.

When the Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das Park came up about a year ago, the local residents were happy because it fulfilled their long-standing demand.

However, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), which constructed the park, left no space for parking and thus began the problem. Local residents said the lack of parking space near the park had made the Pokhariput-Khandagiri Road more accident prone than before. The area has seen 13 deaths, mostly of two-wheeler riders, in the last one year.

The park is barely 500 metres away from the Gandamunda Square, which is the most dangerous spot as far as accidents are concerned.

The traffic on the entire stretch has also become heavy, with the housing and real estate development in the entire zone extending up to Sundarapada. “The road also connects many technical institutions, a university and many offices. So, parking on the main road has become a major problem, especially in the morning and evening hours,” said local resident of Pokhariput, Loknath Dash.

The local police also intervened in the matter sometime ago but nothing happened. “The development authorities should have included provisions for parking while designing the park. Even now they can convert part of the footpath outside the park into a parking lot,” said Dash.

A senior traffic officer of the city police added that on two occasions the violators were arrested and fined Rs 500 each for parking their cars on the road. “The BDA authorities should come up with a permanent solution so that visitors will not be forced to park their vehicles on the road. They have to consider changing the design of the space near the gate in consultation with the public works department,” he added.

Hruday Ballabh Samantray, councillor of ward No. 30, admitted that the parking of vehicles on the road near the park has created problem for the commuters. “At present the entire area has become a major hub for housing activities. The road also serves as a major link between many educational institutions. I will meet the authorities of BDA to point out the problems,” he added.

Apart from the traffic problem, the new park has several other problems. “The enclosures having rides and slides are not filled with adequate sand deposits. Even a swing is lying defunct for the last one week. The authorities should fill the areas with sand so that children don’t get hurt while playing in their area,” said Pitambar Parida, a resident of Ananta Vihar. On the issue of parking in front of the BDA facility, a senior BDA engineer said that the experts would take up the matter soon.

“Necessary steps will be taken up after the engineers discuss all the points at a meeting soon,” he said.