Road repair works in towns across Odisha to be completed by October 5: Works Minister

Road repair works in all towns of Odisha including Twin City of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar will be completed by October 5, said Law and Works Minister Prithviraj Harichandan on Friday.

The Minister informed about the development after a special meeting for the Twin City that was conducted for the first time ahead of the upcoming Dussehra festival. Harichandan also ordered the departmental authorities to address the waterlogging issues.

According to Harichandan, a coordination meeting had never been held to repair the roads of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar and the meeting was held for the first time after the formation of the BJP government in the State.

“This trend will continue in future and a review will be done about the condition of roads. Meetings will also be held after Dussehra for a permanent solution to traffic issues. Deliberations will be made for the construction of new roads to solve the traffic-related issues in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar,” said Harichandan.

“New roads can’t be constructed in the rainy season. However, a coordination meeting was held for the repaire of roads. All the MLAs and Mayors of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, Chief Secretary, Special Secretary, Engineer-in-chief, National Highway authorities and some departmental officials were present in the meeting. As per the asset management database, a presentation was made by the department for minor and major repair works. Apart from it, opinions were sought from the MLAs and other leaders about the repair works required for the smooth road communication of people in urban areas considering the upcoming festivals,” the Minister added.

Giving her opinion about the road repair works, Cuttack-Barabati MLA Sofia Firdous said, “I have seen many issues on roads while visiting different places during Ganesh Puja. The list has been provided to CMC. Demand has been made to complete the road and drain works in time.”

“There is a lack of proper coordination during the road and drain works and as a result, people are facing lots of problems. Emphasis should be placed on proper coordination. The shoddy roads should be completely dug and new roads should be constructed on the basis of long-term planning,” said Bhubaneswar Central MLA Ananta Narayan Jena.