Vendors on Jobra Barrage Road. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Nov. 3: The Jobra Barrage Road is all set to get back its traffic order as the city police have decided to “evict” roadside vendors from there. This move is likely to ensure a better flow of traffic on this road and on Ring Road as well.

A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting of the traffic management committee held recently. Police commissioner B.K. Sharma headed the meeting.

More than 60 street vendors are eking out a living by selling fish and vegetables on the footpaths of the road.

“Vehicular movement gets affected as many people park their vehicles on the road to buy vegetables, fruits and fish from these sellers. The traffic management committee has recently taken a decision to clear the encroachments from the area soon,” said a senior official.

Besides, concerns were expressed at the meeting over bad road conditions at different parts of the city that were creating traffic problems and resulting in accidents. Officials of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation, roads and buildings department and irrigation department have been asked to submit maps of city streets under their maintenance at the earliest, the official added.

However, the vendors carrying out their business on the Jobra barrage Road are afraid that their livelihood would be affected if they were evicted from the place. “We have been doing business here for many years. The officials should provide us with proper alternative vending zones before eviction,” said Ramesh Sahu, a fish vendor.

Last month, many vendors were also evicted from the Gaurishankar Park area to streamline vehicular movement at Choudhry Bazaar.

A sub-committee comprising officials of the roads and buildings department, the municipal corporation and the city police has also been constituted to identify alternative vending zones for the evicted vendors.

On the other hand, the Khyudra Utha Dokani Mahasangha has decided to launch an agitation to protest against the decision to evict vendors from Jobra Barrage Road.

“We oppose to the joint eviction programme by the civic body and the city police. It is illegal to evict vendors without providing them with suitable alternatives,” said the association’s president, Subhas Singh. He also added that for the last two years, the corporation had been promising to come up with alternative vending zones in different parts of the city. The municipal corporation has failed to establish five vending zones in the city, including one each at Jobra and Mangalabag.

The corporation’s officials, however, said that work for the proposed alternative vending zones was being carried out and it would be completed soon.