BMC to start drive to clear abandoned vehicles, carts

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has planned to launch an extensive drive to remove vehicles, makeshift cabins, and carts lying abandoned in different parts of the city to ensure public safety and maintain the city’s aesthetics.

The move by the civic authorities came after several concerned residents raised the issue on The Times of India’s Citizen Reporter portal recently. The citizens highlighted the massive inconvenience caused to them due to this current practice.


Citizen reporter Ridhima Acharya wrote: “Vehicles abandoned on roads and footpaths of Bhubaneswar are causing massive obstruction for residents. The problem is acute in several residential areas as these vehicles occupy the internal roads, disrupting even the sweeping and cleanliness activities.”

Sharing pictures from the Satya Nagar flyover where vacant places are occupied by these vehicles, Ridhima urged the authorities to remove these abandoned scraps as they not only cause inconvenience to people but also hinder the city’s beautification drive.

Another concerned resident, Sumiit Miishra, posted on the TOI’s portal that spaces under flyovers in Bhubaneswar, which were planned for greenery and public amenities, have turned into neglected zones.

“The spaces are now filled with abandoned vehicles and vendor carts. The situation is similar across major flyovers, including Laxmi Sagar, VSS Nagar, and Pokhariput. It raises concerns over urban aesthetics and safety,” he said.

Responding to the concerns, city mayor Sulochana Das told TOI that they are periodically removing these scrap items from the public spaces to ensure safety of the people and also to keep the beauty of the city intact.

“We are going to intensify our enforcement activities and will ensure that the public spaces are free from such discarded vehicles and carts. At the same time, we urge the city police to intensify their patrolling so that people will behave in a disciplined manner,” she said.

Highlighting the obstructions on footpaths and roads, citizen reporter Akshay Badapanda wrote that in Bhubaneswar, many makeshift vending cabins have been abandoned on footpaths and roads due to eviction drives by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation.

“These cabins often give rise to clutter, creating safety and accessibility issues for pedestrians. The civic authorities should take action and clear these from public spaces to ensure people’s safety,” Badapanda urges the civic authorities.




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