Bhubaneswar, April 2: Police stations here have become dumping grounds for impounded and unclaimed vehicles that have been gathering rust and dust for years waiting for claimants.

These vehicles, seized for crimes such as hit-and-run, cheating, theft or during checks conducted by the traffic police, number in the hundreds and some of them are beyond recognition. The condition of some of the vehicles has deteriorated to such an extent that they can only be sold to scrap dealers.

Apart from being an eyesore, these junkyards also pose the threat of mishaps such as fire.

On Monday, a fire broke out in the backyard of Kharavela Nagar police station, which was occupied by rows of impounded vehicles.

A fire tender took more than half an hour to douse the flames that had engulfed a car and few motorcycles near the boundary wall of the police station, which is just adjacent to The Telegraph office. It created panic among people staying in the area.

An official said around 300 vehicles, including 15 four-wheelers, were lying in the precincts of the police station.

“These vehicles are now the property of the court. We will check how many vehicles have court cases pending against them and how many have already been cleared,” said inspector in charge of Kharavela Nagar police station Manoj Samant.

He said he would file a report on the vehicles that had caught fire and inform the court.

Poisonous snakes have often been found in the pile-up of seized vehicles at Khandagiri police station. A large number of vehicles have piled up over several years. These seized vehicles cover almost two-thirds of the police station’s precincts, while also providing poisonous reptiles and mosquitoes a safe breeding ground.

“We are trying to collect the exact number of these vehicles,” said inspector in charge of Khandagiri police station Sanjeev Satpathy. However, sources said around 200 two-wheelers and 60 four-wheelers, including several trucks, were lying on the police station grounds.

The scenario is the same at several other police stations in the city.

Nayapalli police station, which has been operating from a rented building, is suffering from lack of space while accommodating these vehicles. While several motorcycles have been piled up on its grounds, many such vehicles can also be found lying on the road in front of the police station.

Sources said there were around 150 two-wheelers and 30 four-wheelers.

A local resident said the impounded vehicles outside the police stations leave them with little space to park their own vehicles and restrict free movement.

“We face problems here because these damaged vehicles have piled up in front of our house,” said another resident of the area.

The Nayapalli police said that lack of space forced them to park the vehicles on the roadside.

“Once the court cases are over, we try to dispose them of. They are either handed over to the owners or auctioned,” said a senior police officer of Nayapalli police station.

Around 100 motorcycles and 20 four-wheelers can be found at the Capital police station. About 50 motorcycles are lying in a damaged condition on the grounds of Saheed Nagar police station, while 100 motorcycles and 20 four-wheelers are lying at Lingaraj police station.

Most of these vehicles get damaged because of lack of care and exposure to the elements.

Police officials, however, blamed the delay in disposal of cases for the pile-up of unclaimed vehicles.

“As there is no space for keeping vehicles on the court premises, they are kept here. We also lack a centralised warehouse for these impounded vehicles,” said a senior police officer, adding that there should be a centralised stockyard in Bhubaneswar.