Joda, March 13: Peeved over the bad shape of the National Highway-215, locals along with the councilors of ward-1 and 2 of Joda civic body blocked it for four hours Friday.
Councilors Ashok Naik, Srikant Samant and Jitendra Jaiswal sat in hunger strike till the evening. Scores of vehicles were stranded on both side of the road due to the blockade.
Several councillors and locals had March 3 submitted a memorandum to the district collector, pressing for immediate steps to repair the road.
“Though 10 days have passed, nothing has been done. The road is in a bad shape causing a lot of problems for commuters. As no steps were taken to repair it, we had to block the road to air our grievances,” lamented Manas Das, Sambhu Hembram, Jagannath Das and Nihar Ranjan Das.
They also said the mineral-rich district generates huge amount of revenue from the mining sector, but the authorities have been neglecting its roads, which are lifeline of the district.
Mining companies are making big bucks from mines, but none are bothered to improve the condition of roads, locals alleged. Besides, locals are also affected by rising pollution in the area.
Police were deployed at the site to maintain law and order. Commuters had a harrowing experience due to the strike which continued for four hours.
At about 7 pm, administrative officials including local tehsildar and SDPO turned up for the spot and held discussions with the agitators. The discussion was on till this report was filed.PNN
