CUTTACK: The untimely rains have left roads in major parts of the city in deplorable conditions.
Most of the important streets, where JICA-funded Integrated Sanitation Improvement Project was carried out by Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB), are full of slush, potholes and mud. The dug-up portions of the roads are yet to be properly repaired and following the rains, the stretches have virtually turned into death traps for motorists and commuters.
Roads stretching from Badambadi to Malachandia Chowk, Mangalabag to Nuapatna and Tinikonia Bazaar to Hati Pokhari are the worst affected. Sources said the OWSSB had dug up these roads at different places for construction of underground chambers. Though the construction work has already been completed, the roads are yet to be restored.
“If the agency had been made to refill the dug-up portions properly after construction of chambers and laying of the pipelines, the roads would not have been so bad. But, it just left the excess soil in the middle of the road and with the rains, it all turned to slush, making the roads unusable,” said Sirish Kumar Mohapatra, a resident of Raja Bagicha.
Even sanitary workers of Cuttack Municipal Corporation(CMC) find it difficult to bring their vehicles into these roads for cleaning and hence the garbage is being mixed with the slush and get buried in the roads making it slippery and dangerous. “The problems have come to our notice and we have asked the agency to carry out repair work as soon as possible and maintain the roads properly,” said a senior official of the district administration.