Bhubaneswar: Despite tall claims made by the State government on spending crores of rupees for development in ‘Smart City’ Bhubaneswar, broken and pothole-peppered roads of Rangamatia narrate a different tale.
The main road in Rangamatia is filled with large potholes forcing pedestrians and school students to use the covered drains. During rainy days, one can easily confuse the road with a canal.
Though residents of Rangamatia have reportedly informed several government officials about the issue, nothing significant has been done to address the problems.
“The road is in a pathetic condition. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) dug out the road for a roadside pond and carry out drainage work. Now they are using soil to fill the potholes on the road. People are crossing the road in precarious conditions,” said Ashok Sethi, a local resident.
Echoing similar views another local, Pradipta Parida said, “We have informed the government officials, but still the road condition is poor. Senior government officials and ministers do not use this road while visiting the area and that’s why they remain oblivious to the problems. We want a pucca road so that people can travel safely.”
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Meanwhile, BMC officials said the land through which the road passes earlier belonged to Railways and recently a no-objection certificate (NOC) has been given to the civic body. Besides, delay in the sewerage drain work carried out by JICA is creating problems for the BMC to repair the road, BMC sources added.
“We have got the NOC to construct a road now near the railway station. Once the JICA work carried out on behalf of the Sewerage Board gets over, the road will be repaired,” BMC Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said.