Bhubaneswar: City authorities have decided to intensify enforcement on the entry of heavy vehicles, particularly lorries and trucks, into the city limits during peak hours after several citizens raised the issue.The residents have posted and written on TOI’s Citizen Reporter portal and highlighted how the heavy trucks are causing extreme inconvenience to commuters and creating a road safety hazard for all, particularly pedestrians and cyclists.Citizen reporter Suchismita Ojha wrote: “Heavy trucks moving through city limits during peak hours not only slow down traffic but also create serious safety risks for commuters, cyclists and pedestrians.“A well-structured ban on their entry between 9 am and 6 pm could be framed both as a public safety measure and a traffic management policy,” she wrote, urging the municipal administration and traffic police to implement this restriction immediately.Another concerned resident, Sumiit Miishra, highlighted the issue with a strong example of a major accident that occurred at the Power House Square in Dec last year involving a heavy vehicle and a four-wheeler.He stated that a major accident took place in Dec last year at Power House Square when a truck pushed a car from behind, causing massive traffic jam in the early morning hours.“Fortunately, the driver of the car miraculously escaped unharmed. Despite the incident, heavy trucks continue to move freely on the city roads. City authorities are urged to take urgent steps to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future,” he said.Responding to the concern, city mayor Sulochana Das said they will coordinate with the traffic authorities and implement the ban on the entry of such heavy vehicles inside the city limits during peak hours.“There is a ban on goods carriers of six wheels and more between 5 am and 10 pm with the only exception on the national highway. Goods vehicles which are entering the city in the ban hours will face strict action,” she said.Citizen reporter Ishan Singh wrote on the TOI portal that despite the existing ban on heavy goods vehicles during peak hours, trucks carrying construction materials and goods continue to ply freely within the city limits.“To prevent any untoward incidents and ensure safety of daily commuters, we urge the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate and the city authorities to implement immediate measures, including zero-tolerance field enforcement,” he said.A senior traffic official told TOI that they are checking the entry of such vehicles at the city’s entry points or junctions where they are spotted sometimes. “The traffic personnel deployed at the junctions will intensify their monitoring activities,” he said.
