ROURKELA: Resentment is brewing among denizens of Rourkela as most of the roads and bylanes, dug up for the ongoing underground sewerage system, are either lying in highly damaged condition or repaired erratically.
Sources said work on the Integrated Sewerage System (ISS) is moving at a snail’s pace in several locations. Consider the case of Chhend Colony. Its four-lane main road with divider was in very good condition before one of its portions got damaged after pipelines were laid. However, repair work on the damaged stretch is yet to be carried out, A few days ago, a group of women from Chhend Colony had staged agitation protesting delay in execution of work.
Similar is the fate of multiple arterial roads in posh Civil Township area. After erratic road restoration work, a portion of Hanuman Vatika by-pass road became uneven with cavities and manholes. The remaining damaged portion is yet to be repaired. Restoration of the damaged Rourkela Main Road stretch and road between Ambedkar Square and Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) office at Uditnagar has not yet been taken up.
ISS also envisages connecting individual households. Congress leader and candidate for Rourkela Assembly constituency Biren Senapati on Friday raised the issue with the authorities of construction firm L&T.
Senapati said at many places, after laying of pipelines, roads were not repaired. On repaired road stretches, manholes pose hazard to motorists. Without completing work at the previously dug up areas, new roads are dug up, he added. Senapati said work on the damaged portions is pending for months together. He said he was given an assurance that work on the ongoing stretch of 125 km would be completed on priority and work on 40 km stretch would be taken up later.
Odisha Water Supply & Sewerage Board (OWSSB) is the nodal agency for the mega project and engineering giant L&T is its executing agency. OWSSB sources said the entire project cost is `340.19 crore which envisages connecting around 30,000 households with 231 km sewerage lines by January 2020.