JICA’s haphazard road construction adds to woes of Cuttack residents

Cuttack: The haphazard road construction work by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has now given rise to new a problem for the residents of Cuttack. As sand is now being used at several places to fill the craters where construction work was undertaken for the integrated sanitation project, it is leading to road mishaps.

The residents of the Millennium City alleged that they are finding hard to commute particularly on Press Chhak-42 Mouza Road as it is filled with heaps of sand which was brought for the road construction work.

As JICA officials did not clear the heaps of sand and soil from the road even after two years of its completion of the construction work, it is creating problems for us, alleged a local resident.
A wheat-laden truck reportedly got stuck on the road yesterday and it was only 14 hours the vehicle was cleared from the spot,

“The road has not been constructed properly. I did not know that they had only covered the road using soil. As a result, my vehicle got stuck here. There was not even any signal banning entry of heavy vehicles. With much difficulty we removed the vehicle,” said the truck driver.

The residents further alleged that Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) is yet to take any action against JICA officials despite several complaints regarding irregularities.

“The deplorable road condition is now a regular feature as JICA is not repairing the roads properly. We have been complaining about it for the last several years. Neither the concerned officials, nor CMC authorities are taking any steps to resolve such issues,” said a commuter.

When contacted, CMC Commissioner, Sarat Chandra Nayak, assured to look into the matter and take urgent action in this regard.

“If there are any heap of soil and sand on the road, I will ask JICA to remove it at the earliest. Besides, we will direct to carry out the road construction works without creating inconvenience for commuters,” Nayak said.