The under construction Kalyan Mandap at Keruapal village under Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district may collapse at any time. The villagers fear so.
Alleging corruption in the construction work of the Kalyan Mandap, the villagers said they have good reasons to feel dissatisfied with the quality of the work.
They alleged they have all along been opposing the construction of the building for not only the use of sub-standard construction materials but also the low-quality work. They also pointed out that they are in dark about the project and its cost as no information plaque has been put up at the construction site.
Resentment is growing among the villagers their complaints have been falling on deaf ears. “We have taken up the matter with the administrative officials on several occasions but to no avail,” they alleged.
“Why we feel that the building may collapse at any time is because of low quality work. For example, where six-iron rods are required, they are using four. Where five pillars are required, they are managing with three,” said a villager, Hari Prasad Das.
Similarly, another villager Balaram Kenda said, “While there is no information plaque at the site, the construction materials being used in the construction of the Kalyan Mandap are substandard. We have taken the matter up with the JE in presence of sarpanch and naib sarpanch. Instead of addressing the issue, they threatened us saying we can’t do any harm to them.
In this regard, when contacted, assistant engineer Jaladhar Behera said, “The villagers’ allegations are baseless. As they are complaining about the signboard, we will put it up in a day or two.”