Buses are parked on both sides of the roads in Cuttack due to shortage of space causing problems for commuters. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Jan. 4: Burgeoning population is taking its toll on the city’s traffic space, which is too inadequate to handle the present pressure.

The 2.5km stretch from Badambadi bus stand to Madhupatna square, popularly known as Link Road, faces frequent traffic snarls. There is heavy traffic in this area because of the NH-5 that passes through the city near Link Road. About 20 to 25 buses enter and leave the city through the Link Road every five minutes making it one of the busiest roads in the state.

The Badambadi bus stand, which was established in 1974 to accommodate 110 buses, is now facing a space crunch since the number of buses have crossed 1,000 in the city. So, hundreds of buses are parked on the roadside causing problems for citizens.

“The roads are encroached upon by a number of vendors and buses which are parked on both sides causing obstruction in the smooth functioning of the traffic. Apart from this, town buses and autorickshaws, which were introduced in the late 80s and 90s respectively, are also creating a lot of traffic congestion,” said local resident Biplab Sahoo.

Apart from this, there has been a rise in the number of educational institutions, hotels and restaurants along Badambadi and Madhupatna square, which is recognised as a prominent commercial establishment in the heart of the city.

Apart from the Badambadi bus stand, there are three other bus stands between Badambadi and Madhupatna square.

Due to unavailability of any predefined bus stops, loading and unloading of passengers take place anywhere on the road affecting movement of other vehicles.

Lack of footbridges, footpaths and zebra crossings make life tough for pedestrians.

“The road has become accident prone,” Divakar Das, a passenger, said. Many local residents believe that construction of subways and underground roads could provide respite from traffic congestion in the area.

On the other hand, official sources said places for constructing footbridges had been identified and construction work was on. However, the problem of traffic congestion would be resolved to a great extent once the new bus terminal comes up. A deal has already being inked to build the terminal.

“We are forced to park our buses on the road due to the unavailability of parking space. Though we use government bus stand to park our vehicles for a fee, the space is not enough to accommodate all our buses,” said vice-president of Private Bus Owners’ Association Druga Prasad Mohanty.

“The state government is yet to provide us with land for parking buses. To avoid traffic congestion, we have decided to park vehicles at the bus stand 30 minutes before their scheduled departure,” Mohanty added.