Bhubaneswar, June 17: The stretch between Rasulgarh and Palasuni on the National Highway No. 16 has turned into an accident-prone zone with around 20 road mishaps reported in the past two months.

Though authorities had earlier constructed a flyover on this stretch, lack of maintenance of the approach roads is causing problems for commuters.

While most of the private vehicles take the flyover, the public transport vehicles ply on the approach roads that have developed potholes at several places.

The condition of the approach roads gets worsened even after a mild spell of shower, creating trouble for the commuters. On May 24, one Ramesh Chandra Bandha of Bhadrak died in a road mishap on this stretch after a truck hit his motorcycle.

"We have been demanding repair of the approach roads for more than a year, but the authorities are yet to initiate any action. With the arrival of rains, motorist are now afraid of getting stuck inside open drains, which run parallel to the approach roads," said local resident Sarbeswar Jena.

Besides, Rasulgarh Square witnesses traffic jam in peak hours with vehicles moving in all directions. Several autorickshaws can be spotted parked at the square, further congesting the stretch. Hundreds of buses plying on the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar and Cuttack-Puri routes pass through the square on a daily basis.

Over-speeding on the flyover has also led to several accidents in the recent past. On February 8, a truck driver, Manas Kumar Parida, and his helper, Suraj Kumar Mansingh, both residents of Khurda, were killed in a road mishap on the flyover after their vehicle hit another truck.

Local residents blamed police for failing to properly regulate traffic on the stretch. "This is one among the busiest stretches in the city, but there is only one traffic post at the square. The police should deploy its personnel to prevent buses staying long to pick up passengers on the stretch, causing traffic congestion," said Nirmalya Mohapatra, another local resident.

National Highways Authority of India's regional officer D. Sarangi said they would shortly inspect the stretch. "The repair of the approach roads will begin shortly," said Sarangi. "Dilly-dally over clearance of the encroached land has led to the delay. Besides, the drains located on both the sides need to be shifted," he said.