Kendrapara: The incessant four-day-long monsoon rains that lashed many parts of this district have damaged several roads, putting the locals in much difficulty and hardships.
The district had received approval for works on a total of 476 village roads under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme during this fiscal. Of these, only four roads were constructed. Sadly, even these roads have failed to withstand the continuous rain and remain badly damaged. The bad quality of work added to the problem.
Road construction works remain incomplete in Singhagaon panchayat, and the road communication remains suspended along the stretch. Inhabitants of several villages under the Mahakalpara and Rajnagar blocks are facing a lot of hardship due to the bad condition of the roads.
Zilla Parishad member Ganesh Chandra Samal said the district has seven rivers and 27 tributaries, and the riparian villagers largely depend these days on the river embankment for riding or driving their vehicles.
He noted that the construction work for the embankment roads started before the 2014 general elections in the name of ’embankment strengthening’. At that time, the existing tarred surface was knocked off. These stretches were yet to be resurfaced with new tar.
In the last zilla parishad meeting, questions were raised about the deplorable condition of the Kalapada-Rankal village road of Luna river and the south side embankment of Chitrotpala river. Questions were raised as to why the sanctioned money had not been spent during the given time-span. But officials shifted the blame for the present state of roads on the contractors.
Because of the negligence from not just the water resources department but also the works department, the rural development department and the panchayti raj department of the block administration, there were no drainage facilities and the rains played havoc with roads, he stated.
Social activist Bibhuti Rout said several roads like the Bijaynagar haat-Biswal Sahi road, the Bijaynagar-pheri ghat road of Mahakalpara block, the Guludua, Kurutunga, Kansara, Badadandua roads and several roads under Gogua panchayat were not motorable.
Ex-sarpanch of Singhgaon panchayat Nirmal Chandra Jena said the road conditions in Singhagaon, adopted by Ex-MP Baijayant Panda, remained the same as they were earlier.
The construction of some culverts on the Dandisahi-Singhagaon village road was yet to be completed. As a result, rain water was accumulating on eight under-the-bridge roads, bringing the communication on this road to a complete halt.
Though the district and block administrations have already been informed about the problems, no action has been taken.
Sub-collector Sanjay Kumar Mishra said steps would be taken against the contract firms if they failed to complete the construction on time. Admitting to the deplorable road conditions, he said several meetings had been held recently to discuss the problems. The concerned departments have been alerted. The latest information on progress of works will be available at the next review meeting of roads officials, he said.