Traffic chaos at Dolmundai crossing in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Oct. 27: Regular traffic jams in the city are making life hell for commuters. This is because of lack of measures on the part of the authorities to streamline the flow of traffic at major streets and crossings in the city.

Dolmundai square is the best example of disorganised traffic. The traffic condition in the area has become a nightmare for commuters, who are finding it difficult to negotiate the heavy rush and frequent.

Located in the heart of the city, the Dolmundai square acts as a “connecting channel” to major destinations.

“There is utter chaos on this road throughout the day and it sometimes becomes too hard to cross the road because of heavy traffic here,” said Quasim Khan, 36, a commuter.

Commuters depend on this road to travel to many important destinations such as the railway station, Badambadi bus stand, Malgodown, Chhatrabazar, Bajrakabati, Ranihat, Pithapur and Jhola Sahi.

There is a heavy rush of devotees at the square as the famous Hakeshwar temple is also located here. Also, Dolmundai is also one of the major commercial centres in the city.

Vehicles from Badambadi, Pithapur, Haripur, Bajrakabati and Mahatab road converge at the square, which has become a “self-regulated crossing”.

The road divider from Badambadi traffic ends just 200 metres away from Hatakeshwar temple. As a result, vehicles coming from Badambadi, Pithapur, Haripur, Bajrakabati and Mahatab road converge at that point, leading to utter chaos here.

“Because of bad road engineering, there is utter chaos on the particular stretch as everybody is in a rush to cross the road. Besides this, the road divider should be extended up to the circular crossing. This would ease the congestion to some extent,” said Manoranjan Nayak, 35, another commuter.

According to local residents, despite its religious and commercial importance, there is no identifiable parking lot here.

Because of the absence of a specified parking space, many devotees coming to the temple and the market park their vehicles on the road, thereby obstructing the flow of traffic.

On the other hand, traffic officials have admitted that lack of infrastructural development has caused utter chaos at the crossing. Moreover, the digital traffic signalling system that has already been installed is yet to be made operational.

“Despite the rush and chaos, no accidents have been reported on the road as the speed of the vehicles from either sides is low. However, efforts will be made to streamline the traffic flow here,” said an official.

Moreover, the site for a parking lot has already been identified and work is expected to begin soon.

Similarly, there is a proposal to extend the road divider from Dolmundai to Bajrakabati canal and block the multiple cut-points on the busy stretch, the official added.