Bhubaneswar, April 16: All those who commute on the National Highway-203 stretch from Rasulgarh to Ravi Talkies beware.

At least 35 transformers are situated on this stretch and most do not have enclosures. These transformers encroach on road space, making it extremely accident-prone.

In some cases, the parapets around them have been encroached upon. The situation is even more risky when a power cut takes place at night.

Retired engineer Ashim Kanungo, a resident of Bomikhal, said: “Some expansion work was carried out on NH-203 when it became a national highway from a public works department (PWD) road, but it was a piecemeal approach. The electrical poles and installations hindered the expansion plans. At many places, the transformers emerge as barrier in the way of the expanded portions.”

A senior traffic police officer, who did not want to be named, said: “The electrical installations have caused more than 15 accidents in the past 12 months .”

Senior police officials said several letters had been written to Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu) authorities on the shifting of electrical installations near NH-203 including electrical wires, but no action had been taken.

Cesu general manager Utpal Sinha said: “We need at least Rs 85.22 lakh to shift electric poles and transformers on the stretch between Rasulgarh and Ravi Talkies Square. We submitted the estimate to the national highway (Odisha) authorities about a month ago.”

Sinha said that Cesu was battling a staff crunch and could not guarantee finishing the work on time and would need Rs 4.77 lakh as consultancy charges, which had been included in the estimate.

“We will supervise the work but the execution will be taken care of by agencies concerned with the road work. They can do the shifting with the help of contractors. This decision was taken at a meeting chaired by the revenue divisional commissioner recently,” he said.

However, NH (Odisha) chief engineer B.C. Pradhan does not agree with Cesu’s idea. “The NH-203 stretch between Rasulgarh and Ravi Talkies Square belongs to NH, but the electricity authorities have placed their poles and transformers on the road. So, it is their responsibility to relocate them. There is no pattern or order in the placement of the electrical installations. In the past, we have invested lakhs of rupees for relocation of utility services, but how many times can we do that?

“If a vehicle rams into a pole or transformer on the stretch today, the pole has to be shifted immediately. So, considering the road safety requirements, the Cesu authorities must start shifting the utility services immediately. As far as the expenditure is concerned, we can only incorporate it in our investment if the state government makes a provision. So, there is need for a policy-level decision on footing the bill,” said Pradhan.

“As the transformers are mostly situated near intersections of the roads under the PWD and NH-203, the PWD authorities can also contribute to finance the shifting of the utility services,” Pradhan added.