Residents have urged the administration to demolish two dilapidated houses of Assamese writer Lakhminath Bezbaroa located at Nelson Mandela Chowk near Rotary Junction in the city as they are causing traffic problems.

The state government had planned to give Rotary Junction a new look with a garden around the sahid stambha situated in the middle. Originally there was a plan to demolish the houses where the writer had stayed for about 20 years.

The design of the Rotary Junction, adjacent to the second bridge over the Mahanadi, was changed only to save Bezbaroa’s house by the public works department. “The straight approach road to the bridge had been curved to save the house — which is causing accidents of serious nature,” said Manas Boxi, who led a delegation to submit memorandum to collector Samarth Verma.

The delegation told the collector that the works had constructed a bad curve “like a death trap” only to save the houses of the writer. “Considering the interest of the people, Bezbaroa’s house should be demolished,” the memorandum said. Recently, a group of people rushed to the spot where the writer’s houses are located and staged demonstration, demanding demolition of the buildings. “We would intensify the agitation if it is not demolished for the public interest. The newly constructed bridge has not yet been thrown open to the public, but accidents are taking place because of the bad curve near the houses,” said Boxi.

Members of the Odisha Sanskrutik Samaj, a leading socio-cultural organisation, and many other forums of Sambalpur presented memorandums addressed to chief minister Naveen Patnaik through the collector, in which they had demanded demolition of the houses of the writer — who had no contribution to either the Odia literature or Odisha during his stay here from 1917 to 1937. Bezbaroa came to Sambalpur as an employee of a British-based company for his timber business. He used one building as his residence while another for official purpose.

The district administration had initially planned to demolish the houses to pave way for development of Rotary Junction. But, a group of people opposed it.

Assam’s cultural affairs minister Naba Kumar Doley and media adviser to the chief minister Hrisikesh Goswami, who had visited Sambalpur in October last year, held discussions with the collector and later also called on Naveen and requested him to preserve the houses. Subsequently, a decision was taken to modify the design of Rotary Junction to save the houses.