SAMBALPUR: A number of roads are riddled with craters. Some more in the city have been dug up and left unattended putting the commuters at immense inconvenience.
Question the civic body authorities about the incomplete works and they cite Model Code of Conduct as the reason for stopping the projects.
Locals allege that Sambalpur Municipal Corporation has halted a number of projects after the enforcement of code of conduct and they are having to deal with dug up and potholed roads. Before the code of conduct came into effect on March 10, sewerage work and laying of water pipelines under AMRUT scheme were going on in full swing, said locals.
The road passing through Nanakram High School in Daldalipara area in Khetrajpur was dug up for sewerage work, but after the announcement of elections, SMC stopped work and filled the area with sand leaving it uneven and unmotorable.
As nearly half feet of the road is filled with sand, the two-wheeler riders are forced to get down and drag their vehicles across the entire stretch while the pedestrians claim their feet get sucked into the sand and the extreme heat only makes it more difficult for them.
Adding to the woes of commuters, in most areas though pipelines have been laid, the debris remain dumped on the road, narrowing down the path. This is not only obstructing the road during the peak hours of the day but turning it into an accident prone area in the darkness as most people trip over the rubble in less visibility. A concrete road laid just last year was dug up a few months later for sewerage and pipeline works. Locals said their appeals to the civic authorities to repair the roads temporarily have been turned down and they have been asked to wait till elections are over.