Rourkela: Former Biramitrapur MLA George Tirkey Wednesday staged a dharna on Bisra-Jareikela road protesting the bad condition of the road and apathy of the administration in resolving the issue. Bisra-Jareikela road is part of the NH 320 D and it connects Rourkela to Jharkhand via Bisra. Tirkey, who is now in BJD, along with his large number of supporters, began the road blockade at 8am which continued till 1:30pm. The demonstration was held at the crucial intersection of the road – BandhamundaKhukuda Gate. Tirkey sat on dharna and held his ground till the representatives of Rourkela sub-collector, the tehsildar, Bisra BDO and other officials came and interacted with him. Tirkey said he has four major demands which the administration has assured him to look into. “I want completion of the road work at the earliest and the same be made commutable for the users. Using the road is a nightmare here and the administration does not care a fig for the hardship of the commuters,” said. His second demand is the completion of the railway overbridge near Khukuda Gate. “This is a very important intersection and the Railways never bothered to complete it,” he maintained. Regarding land acquisition hurdles, Tirkey said, “I urge the administration to listen to the land owners. There are only six land owners and of them, two have already agreed.
However, the administration is completely ignoring them. Speak to them and complete everything including their compensation.” His last demand was the construction of an underpass near Bartoli that would help ease the traffic congestion near Kukuda Gate. “My future course of action will depend on the steps taken by the administration,” said Tirkey. Notably, the 31.02-km stretch of the road is in really bad shape. Since a large number of people hailing from Jareikela, Bisra and Bandhamunda areas use this route to visit Rourkela, it needs immediate restoration. This is part of the NH 320D which is now almost defunct as this is supposed to pass right through the Steel City
RAJESH MOHANTY, OP
