Rourkela: The development of Rourkela has taken a backseat with the promises made to develop it into a Smart City remaining hollow and other plans stuck in the labyrinth of government machinery, a report said.
Rourkela municipality was upgraded to a municipal corporation November 14, 2014. However, the city continued to reel under a host of problems.
The Union government declared Rourkela as a Smart City September 20, 2016. The residents welcomed the announcement as they hoped that the newly acquired status will help solve the basic problems and develop it as a well-planned city with facilities for education, healthcare, drinking water, lighting and communication.
Meanwhile, three years have passed since the announcement, but the development of the city has remained only on paper.
Residents alleged that this has happened because the reins of development lie with the state government and its officials who, except making tall promises, have done little for the city.
They alleged that the government is yet to clear the legal cases and conduct the elections to the Rourkela Municipal Corporation.
They claimed that despite several demands, the government has failed to implement the commissionerate police system in the city. The traffic system is in disarray. The city authorities who once talked of implementing underground parking system have failed to streamline roadside parking slots.
The demand for a good park, water bodies, stadium, auditoriums, smart roads, green belt, citizens’ park, public information system, tele-medicine centres, smart classrooms as part of Smart City project continue to remain dreams.
The development of the crowded daily market, wholesale market, and Panposh market has not moved an inch. This apart, the promises of construction of vehicle free zone, traditional vending zone, skill development centre, training centre and tribal art centre are yet to become a reality.
However, what irks many is that a promise made by the Centre to construct a second bridge across river Brahmani is yet to see the light of the day. The construction of the bridge is still mired in doubts.
The authorities have assigned its construction to various consultancy agencies since 2014 but nobody knows when it will be completed.
Similarly, the situation at the Ispat General Hospital is no better which the Centre had promised to upgrade into a super specialty one. The residents as well as the people from neighbouring Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are dependent on this hospital.
The city lacks any premier educational institutes except the National Institute of Technology (NIT). The residents have to go to either Cuttack or Bhubaneswar for higher education and advanced medical treatment.
Manas Ranjan Mohanty, a resident, held the state government, Centre and government officials responsible for lack of Rourkela’s development.
PNN
