Traffic congestion: Heavy vehicle entry restricted in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar

In a bid to decongest the evening traffic in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, the Commissionerate Police has put restrictions on the plying of heavy vehicles including six-wheeler trucks and trailers in the twin cities.

As per reports, these vehicles will not be allowed to ply within the city limits of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack for two and a half hours (from 5 pm to 7.30 pm) in the evening.

The restriction has been imposed for both National and State Highways running through the twin cities.

Speaking about the restrictions, Commissioner of Police, Saumendra Priyadarshi said, “Movement of six-wheelers or very heavy vehicles coming from Pitapalli square to Bhubaneswar and from Manguli towards Cuttack have been restricted. The restriction will be imposed from 5pm till 7:30 pm every evening.”

“This will help reduce the traffic congestion on the Highway through Cuttack and Bhubaneswar,” he added.

However, road safety experts are not quite satisfied with the efforts. Speaking to OTV, road safety expert, Subrat Nanda said, “The timing of restriction is not enough to resolve the peak hour congestion. It should be extended till 9pm in the night.”

Other than that, insufficient parking space for trucks coming in and going out of Bhubaneswar is another reason for traffic congestion, which has not been addressed by the administration till now,” Nanda said.

The restrictions will come into force from September 5. However, goods carriers engaged in essential and emergency duty shall be exempted, the police said.