Cuttack: A road built to decongest traffic and mitigate waterlogging has itself become a bottleneck, with the civic body barricading stretches of the 3-km-long Patapole–Chhatra Bazaar box drain road for over a month for cleaning work. The prolonged closure has narrowed the busy carriageway, leading to severe traffic snarls during peak hours and drawing flak from commuters, who say the barricades have defeated the very purpose of the project.“Why was the drain not cleaned before the monsoon? The civic body had enough time to complete the work. Now, the entire road has been blocked and people are paying the price for it,” said Dibakar Lenka, a resident of Chhatra Bazaar. “It’s a violation. The civic body can’t obstruct a major road for months, that too 24X7, for their convenience and cleaning. The civic body must remove it at the earliest, apologise to the public,” added Lenka.The three huge barricaded spots have left vehicles negotiating through narrow passages, with traffic snarls being reported regularly, especially near Kesharpur and Friends Colony. Two huge barricaded spots in the middle of the road resulted in tremendous traffic snarls for commuters. Two-wheelers, autorickshaws and cars often jostle for space, making the road particularly difficult to navigate during office and school hours.“This road was supposed to provide relief from traffic chaos and waterlogging. Instead, the civic body has created a fresh problem by barricading it for more than a month. If cleaning is necessary, why is the work taking so long?” said Bikas Das, a commuter. The authorities have no right to humiliate motorists and commuters, added Das.“Several hospitals and schools are located along this stretch, and such huge barricades in the middle of the road are creating serious inconvenience for patients, ambulances, students and parents. During peak hours, traffic crawls, and the civic body must realise the risk of blocking such a crucial road for over a month,” said Subrat Behera, a resident of Friends Colony.The civic body must complete the cleaning work immediately and remove the barricades before the stretch turns into a permanent traffic bottleneck, added Behera.Residents also questioned the timing of the work, pointing out that the monsoon had already set in. “The authorities should have anticipated the problem and cleaned the drain before the rains. Blocking the road at three locations without any proper traffic management shows complete lack of planning and irresponsibility,” said Subhash Biswal, an urban expert and resident of Meria bazaar.Mayor Subhash Singh, while admitting the delay in the cleaning process, said, “The work was being carried out to ensure proper cleaning and maintenance of the box drain. As rain continued in several parts of the city, work is expedited. Shortly, we will remove the barricades for smooth traffic,” added Singh.
