Bhubaneswar, Nov. 16: The safety of commuters continues to hang in balance at one of the busiest crossings in the city because of a delay in approving the plan for a foot overbridge at Jayadev Vihar Square.

Keeping in mind the safety of commuters, the Bhubaneswar Municipality Corporation had decided to build three foot overbridges at Ramadevi Women’s College, Master Canteen Square and Jayadev Vihar Square.

The foundation stone for these three overbridges was laid on August 30, Local Self-government Day. The plans for the foot overbridges at Master Canteen Square and Ramadevi Women’s College have been approved, but the plan for the one at Jayadev Vihar Square is yet to get the nod.

BMC sources said the plan approval had been delayed because the proposal for the Jayadev Vihar foot overbridge was given after the two other foot overbridges. Commissioner of BMC Vishal Dev said the plan for the proposed foot overbridge would be approved very soon.

Construction of a flyover on National Highway 5 at Jayadev Vihar Square has led road blockades at some places between Nandan Kanan and Airport Road. This has resulted in difficulties for the commuters who are forced to cross the road navigating dense traffic. There are no nearby road intersections.

The road dividers are badly built too, which raises the chances of untoward incidents. The situation becomes worse during the peak hours — 9.30am to 11.30am and 5.30pm to 7.30 pm.

With a population of around 1 lakh, Jayadev Vihar is one of the busiest areas in the city and with the commuters comprising of a sizable number of school-going children and college students, the area is in dire need of a foot overbridge.

“Commuters are forced to cross the road dangerously. The need for a foot overbridge is urgent. The sooner it is built the better for pedestrians, who will heave a sigh of relief,” said Subhransu Sekhar Pattnaik, local councillor.

All the foot overbridges will be built in public private partnership mode. The Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) will assist the BMC in executing the project. The responsibility of inviting tenders for private partners lies with the BMC. Months have passed since the foundation-laying ceremony but no progress has been made so far.

Before executing the construction, the BMC needs to take plan approval from the roads and building (R&B) division of the public works department (PWD).

Sources in the R&B division said the approval was made after the BMC comes up with a plan. “ It is a formal approval and would take one or two days provided the BMC comes up with a plan,” said a senior official of the R&B division.

Commuters, meanwhile, are having a harrowing time crossing the road. “The news of foot overbridges has been around for a long time. But in reality no one is concerned about the safety of the pedestrians,” said Pitambar Sahu, a senior citizen from Jayadev Vihar.