Cuttack, Jan. 22: Nightmare during the day's peak hours - is what Pradip Sahu, a regular to Buxi Bazar junction, calls the 800-metre stretch - because of its congestion due to an ongoing sanitation project.

Sahu, who used to cover the stretch from Mission Road to Buxi Bazar junction in three minutes, now takes more than half-an-hour to negotiate the trench-dotted road.

Like him, many commuters have to struggle to switch lanes at the junction because of the authorities' sheer incompetence in streamlining vehicular traffic on the stretch for the past one month. And the problem assumes serious proportion in view of the ongoing construction of the Japan International Co-operation Agency-assisted integrated sanitation project.

"The authorities have not taken measures to ensure that traffic flow is not hampered in case of such constructions on major streets or junctions. The commuters are made to suffer due to the lack of co-ordination among various departments," said Sahu.

On this 800-metre stretch, trenches have been dug for sewer channels and pipelines at three places within a gap of 20 to 40 metres.

These add to the traffic congestion during the peak hours. Cars and autorickshaws are forced to ply through a 7ft space as traffic cannot be diverted between Buxi Bazar and Chandi Mandir Square via Mission Road.

Though there is a small space for pedestrians and two-wheelers on the opposite side of the trenches, most commuters prefer the big opening to cross over, leading to chaos at the junction.

The commuters allege that there is no co-ordination between the agency officials, Cuttack Municipal Corporation and police as all four-wheelers coming from the Mission Road side could be diverted via Samaj Office towards Dargha Mastan Road or Howrah Motors and also towards Tinkonia Bagicha.

Like commuters, local residents, too, are bearing the brunt of traffic mismanagement at the stretch. "The area remains chaotic as the authorities have not taken any measures for a speedy completion of the road job," said local resident Sidharth Patnaik.

Buxi Bazar junction is a major connecting link among multiple destinations, including Mangalabag, Choudhry Bazar, Seminary Chhak, Cantonment and Ring Road.

Though the agency officials said they had deployed nearly six traffic marshals to regulate vehicles and ensure safety of commuters on the road in question, hardly any one is found near the construction site during peak hours.

"We, too, have noticed such irregularities at Buxi Bazar junction, and we will shortly take up the matter with the agency officials to ensure round-the-clock deployment of traffic marshals," said assistant commissioner of police (traffic) P.K. Dalai.

Dalai also said that according to the norms, the executing agency also needed to put up signs informing the public to slow down 100 metres before the construction site.

There have been a lot of deviations, and the police are contemplating stern action after taking up the issues with the authorities concerned, he said.

That mismanagement and non-cooperation between the agency and the government organisations have become the norm of the day was also evident from a similar traffic chaos that had persisted on another stretch in the city.

Last year, traffic movement between Howrah Motors and Buxi Bazar had been severely hit because of the same construction activities at Dargha Mastan Road and Mani Sahu Chhak for over a month.