Bhubaneswar, Oct. 4: Dumping of construction material along Janpath from Vani Vihar Square and Master Canteen Square has narrowed down the stretch and added to traffic chaos in the area. The chaos is at its worst at Rupali Square and Sriya Square.

Heaps of stones and sand can be seen piled at various places all along Janpath. “Earlier, we suffered when the road expansion work was going on. Now the dumping of construction material has added to the traffic congestion,” said Pratik Nayak, a student.

Following expansion work, heavy equipment have also been left lying carelessly all along the road. “No work is being done during the festival. It would have been better if these equipment were relocated during the Pujas,” said Arya Nanda, a local resident.

Residents also alleged that lack of responsibility on the part of the authorities had resulted in traffic chaos.

“The authorities should have shown some urgency to complete the road expansion work especially at the major traffic intersections before the Pujas,” said Prasant Muduli, a businessman.

Traffic on Jan Path has become troublesome for commuters especially during the evening hours. “Earlier, it used to take 20 minutes to reach Master Canteen Square from Vani Vihar. But now, even 45 minutes are not enough because of the traffic snarls. The road expansion work, which is progressing at a snail’s pace, is to be blamed for this,” said Indumani Rout, a homemaker.

Residents are finding it difficult to navigate the heavy traffic at Rupali Square and Master Canteen Square. “We are forced to wait for long to cross Master Canteen Square and Rupali Square. Instead of wider roads, we are plying through a road which is getting narrow because of deposition of construction material and encroachment,” said Smurti Ranjan Nayak, a commuter. He also requested the authorities to finish the expansion work at the earliest.

On the other hand, sources in the public works department said that the responsibility to remove the construction material lay with the contractors associated with the expansion work.

“We have asked all the contractors concerned to remove the construction materials from the sites where work has finished,” said Bijan Kumar Behera, chief engineer of roads and buildings division.