Bhubaneswar: Piles of slurry and craters formed alongside the Cuttack-Puri road owing to the ongoing cabling and drain desiltation drive have not only affected the businesses in the area, but also made the stretch unfriendly for the commuters.
Heaps of silt dumped in front of the shops along the stretch prevents the customers from visiting the business establishments. Many shopkeepers have requested the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials to remove the slurry, but to no avail.
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“They have dumped mud in front of my shop Sunday. Although, they said they will remove it at night, nothing was done so far. This has hit my business,” said Kaliprasad Mohanty, owner of Hotel Sai Ram.
Similarly, many merchants favoured drainage cleaning during night and said that the slurry should not be left in front of the shops. “We are paying municipality tax and other charges to the corporation. But, they are conducting desiltation drives during daytime and are dumping a pile of garbage in front of our shops. So, most of our customers are finding it difficult to enter the shop. Even our interiors are getting dirty which has affected the business,” said Mohammed Asif, sales manager, Banadurga Kinetic World.
Likewise, underground cabling work being undertaken by Central Electricity Supply Utility of Orissa (CESU) has left the road riddled with huge craters, which are filled with rainwater now. “Many customers who come by four-wheelers are facing difficulties in parking their vehicles or reverse them due to the barricades put up for cabling work. We will face heavy loss if this cabling work is not completed at the earliest,” said J Khan, owner of Jahangir Glass shop.
Significantly, the merchants are clueless as to whom to approach for filling the potholes or removing the dirt. “We talked to the workers about our problems. They are ignoring our requests and advising us to talk to the contractors. The contractors are giving false assurances and are not doing anything. So, we request the authorities to take necessary steps to protect our livelihood,” said Sharat Chandra Sahu, owner, Laxmi Sanitation.
Though Orissa POST contacted Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena and Municipal Commissioner Krishan Kumar over the issue, there was no response from them. However, some other top officials of BMC assured the newspaper that the issues would be sorted out immediately and the contractor would be asked to remove the slurry.
JOSE K JOSEPH, OP
