Cuttack, March 11: The drive from Badambadi to Madhupatna via Link Road will soon become less worrying as police have decided to keep the busy road free from illegal parking of buses.

According to preliminary arrangements, the police officials have earmarked two dedicated parking lots that were inaugurated on Link Road here today.

The move comes in the wake of repeated complaints about congestion due to irregular parking of buses on both sides of the road that connects Badambadi bus terminus with national highway No. 5 via Link Road.

"Irregular parking of buses on the road caused acute congestion round the clock. The parking bays will play a crucial role enforcing road discipline as the private buses can be parked in a more systematic manner," said Cuttack deputy commissioner of police Sanjeev Arora.

Arora added that over 150 buses could be parked at a time in the new parking lots. Earlier, 40 to 50 buses were being parked on the 2.5-km stretch. The number of buses parked on the road was around 100 during the night.

"Despite being one of the widest roads, commuters face a lot of problems due to encroachments by street vendors and illegal parking of buses on both sides of the road. It would take around 15 to 20 minutes to cover a distance of 2.5 km due to congestion, particularly near Palamandap and Madhupatna," said Sudhir Patra, a daily commuter.

A senior police official said that with the introduction of parking lots, the congestion problem would be checked. Besides, stern action would also be taken against private buses if found parked on the roadside.

"We have already asked the private bus owners to use the parking lots. A fine ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 will be slapped against violators," said assistant commissioner of police (traffic) P.K. Dalai.

Earlier, Orissa High Court had issued a directive to the authority for taking appropriate measures to check illegal parking of buses on the entire stretch from Badambadi to Madhupatna.

The Cuttack Private Bus Owners' Association members have also welcomed the initiative. "Due to the absence of adequate parking space, we were forced to park buses on roads. Now, we hope that the congestion problem and other issues on the road will be resolved," said Ajay Barik, the president of the association.

Barik added that the association would take up the issue of development of basic amenities including proper drinking water, toilets for the bus staff at the two parking lots before the police officials and the Cuttack Municipal Corporation.