At a time when the cause of a car ramming into a parked truck, which claimed five lives, in Bolangir on Tuesday night is being probed, local residents have ascribed the tragic mishap to illegal parking of trucks on the National Highway.
According to locals, the ill-fated car collided with a parked truck on the National Highway, resulting in five deaths. They alleged that accidents, minor and major ones, are occurring on the road on a regular basis due to the illegally parked trucks that encroach upon the road.
The drivers in their defense said, there is no entry for heavy vehicles from 6 am to 12 PM into urban areas. During this period, they can’t pass through the town. This is why they have no other choice but to park on roads at entry points.
“No-entry has been imposed from 6 am to 12 midnight. We have no option but to park our vehicles by the roadside. Here, we are experiencing several problems. Here, we don’t get anything to eat or drink. We have to wait in the scorching heat for the road to open,” said Mohit Din, a driver from Andhra Pradesh.
Mani Bel, a driver from Tamil Nadu shared Mohit’s views.
Such scenes are witnessed not only in Bolangir but also in other parts of the state. The situation on the National Highway-16 near Khordha is no different either. Hundreds of trucks can be found parked on the road during the daytime, eating into half the road space and affecting the normal movement of vehicles. These vehicles can also be found parked on other roads inside the town as well.
The situation in Koida of Sundargarh district is the least said the better.
“The roadside parking is causing accidents. The drivers’ sudden opening of cabin doors is the cause of most accidents. The government should look into it seriously,” rued Ashwini Kumar Subuddhi, a Khordha resident.
“Illegal parking of trucks on both sides of the road is the main reason behind accidents occurring on a daily basis here. Since it is a mining area and hundreds of trucks are plying, the government should designate a place specifically for parking,” said Abhiram Mahakud, a Koida resident.
While it is a cause of concern for the residents nearby, they wished to know why the government is looking the other way when illegal parking is claiming lives.
“We don’t have legal parking anywhere, which is why we are forced to park our vehicles in such a manner. We have been telling the government that a truck can’t be parked in a garage. So they should have designated spaces for parking. As long as truck terminals are not constructed, trucks will be parked on the roadside,” observed Rabi Satpathy, general secretary of, Truck Owners’ Confederation.