The people of Sambalpur can heave a sigh of relief from Monday when a private pay and park truck terminus (PPTT) will be opened. With the facility coming up, the trucks will no more be allowed to park on the service roads, said president of Sambalpur Truck Owners’ Association (STOA) Deben Pati while inaugurating the PPTT on Sunday.
The trucks from outside the State and the district will be moved out of the service road along NH-6 from Ainthapali to Remed Chowk which they have been occupying for overnight halt or repair causing a lot of inconvenience for local commuters.
With the NH-6 from Sambalpur to Luharachatti in Chhattisgarh being converted into four-lane, service road has been provided along it in the areas having human habitation.
The work on service road on both sides of the four-lane NH from Ainthapali Chowk to Remed Chowk in Sambalpur town has been completed. But, the purpose of the road has been marred as the trucks plying on the Highway use it for own convenience.
Almost all the garages and workshops located at Baraipali use the service road to repair the heavy vehicles. As the road is encroached, there have been numerous instances of local commuters meeting accidents.
After the issue led to public outcry, the Ainthapali police launched a drive to remove the parked trucks from the service road. But, the exercise proved futile as the trucks were back on the road after the police team left.
Finally, the District Collector Balwant Singh and Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh held a meeting with the STOA on the issue.
Although the vacant land of Gopalji Mutt was identified to develop truck terminus, differences on the rent delayed the project.
When contacted, IIC of Ainthapali police station Amitabh Panda said they would take legal action if any truck or heavy vehicle is found parked on the service road after Monday. They will impose fine and on non-payment of penalty, they may also seize the vehicle to ensure that the road is made free of heavy vehicles.
