An ambulance caught in a traffic jam on Ranihat Canal Road in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Jan. 19: Lack of measures on part of the city police to streamline vehicular traffic at prominent intersections has led to widespread resentment among the commuters.

Although the city police have launched a campaign to create awareness about traffic rules by observing the Road Safety Week, no concrete action has been taken so far to regulate traffic here.

The Ranihat Canal Road is the glaring example of disorganised traffic in the city.

Not only commuters, but also a lot of patients and their attendants coming to SCB Medical College and Hospital are having a harrowing time due to severe congestion at the vital intersection.

“There is a severe congestion at the particular intersection owing to lack of measures on part of traffic officials to regulate vehicular traffic here particularly during the peak hours,” said Sanjay Das, a commuter. According to Das, a lot of patients coming to SCB Medical College and Hospital from OMP Square are facing a lot of problems owing to traffic jams at Ranihat Canal Road that acts as a connecting link between Mangalabag, Ranihat, College Square and other prominent locations in the city.

Local residents alleged that despite being one of the vital crossings, the city police are yet to take steps for the deployment of traffic constables here. Everyday, a number of commuters depend on the Ranihat Canal Road to travel towards the railway station, Bhubaneswar via OMP Square, College Square, Mangalabag, Ranihat, Jobra and Bajrakabti Road, Dolmundai and Badambadi.

“Already we have taken a lot of measures to regulate traffic at Bajrakabati and Ranihat while there is a proposal to close down unwanted cut points from the entire stretch of Ranihat to College Square,” said traffic ACP Pramod Rath.