Pothole Filled Road In Odisha’s Kendrapara Snuffing Out Precious Lives

The three kilometre Nikirai-Indupur road-the main way to link Kendrapara town, has now turned into a death trap with numerous potholes and ditches.

As per sources, thousands of people and hundreds of four-wheelers including trucks use the road on a daily basis for reaching various gram panchayats of Kendrapara and Jajpur. However, the road has become dangerous with bikers and pedestrians facing accidents on a regular basis due to the potholes. Many precious lives were lost on this road so far.

Though, the road has been repaired many times in the past, it’s often getting damaged again and again due to poor quality of work.

“Thousands of people including school and college students depend on the road for their daily communication. However, the road has become a death trap due to lack of proper maintenance. Authorities have turned a blind eye towards the ordeal of the people in the area,” said Prakash Chandra Jena, a resident of Indupur.

“Despite several requests, the district administration is turning a deaf ear to our plight,” said Jena.

Continuous neglect has made things worse. 

“The road has been repaired many times in the past. However, due to unholy nexus between the contractor and government officials most of the money meant for repairing the roads was siphoned off,” said Dushant Jena, another villager.
Meanhwile, Kendrapara Collector Amrit Ruturaj said he is aware about the condition of the road.

“Funds have been allocated in the State budget for repairing the road. The work will be undertaken soon after the tendering process,” said Ruturaj.
 

(Edited by Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)