Heavy traffic on Khapuria Road. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, July 24: Commuters have been experiencing a tough time dealing with heavy traffic rush on prominent roads during peak hours in the Millennium City. Khapuria Road, one of the arterial roads in the city, is such a road.

There is heavy traffic rush on Khapuria Road that connects the city with NH-5 and Bhubaneswar.

“Traffic congestion has almost become a daily affair on the road. Sometimes it becomes very hard to travel from one end of the road to the other due to heavy rush here,” said Rakesh Mohanty, 33, a commuter.

According to Mohanty, there is hardly any deployment of traffic constables to regulate the flow of traffic here.

Khapuria Road acts as thoroughfare for Khapuria, Khapuria Industrial estate, Press Square, Nuapada, Kalyannagar and Nayabazar areas.

Because of its connectivity with the national highway, there is heavy flow of traffic as commuters from Nayabazar and Nuapada areas use the road.

Local residents said there was hardly any restriction on the entry of heavy vehicles there. Accidents occur there frequently and a number of schools and other educational institutions are located here.

On top of that, illegal encroachments on either sides of the road have been creating hurdles for the smooth flow of traffic.

“There are plenty of encroachments by roadside vendors and even big commercial establishments. The absence of parking facilities have created further problems with many vehicles parking on the road causing traffic congestion,” said Bipin Bihari Pasayat, 42, a local resident.

The condition of the road at Nuapada that connects to Khapuria, is in bad shape and causes inconvenience to those who depend on that stretch, Pasayat added.

Cuttack Municipal Corporation officials said steps were being taken to create new parking lots at different parts of the city.