CUTTACK: The delay in completion of the box drain project has drawn much resentment from the residents of the Millennium city.It was supposed to be completed by December 31 this year, but the Roads & Buildings department has revised the deadline to July 2023. After being stopped for several years, the project was resumed in November 2021. In the last six months, however, only 150 metres have been completed and it is uncertain if the rest of the 2.9 km length of the work can be completed in the next 14 months.
The 3.4 km box drain project under JICA-funded Odisha Integrated Sanitation Improvement Project (OISIP) was conceptualised for facilitating communication over the main storm water channel (MSWC)-1 which would ease traffic congestion and prevent stench emanating from the open drains. The work is being carried out by Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB) after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid foundation stone on September 1, 2012.
Although the initial project cost was Rs 350 crore and the deadline was three years, the inordinate delay has resulted in a cost escalation at Rs 452 crore. A Kolkata-based company which was given the contract was later disengaged from the project in June 2018 on charges of slow pace of construction.Though the OWSSB floated tenders frequently since 2018, it was cancelled time and again due to technical errors. After three years, the tender was finalised in favour of a Bihar-based construction company which resumed the work in November 2021.
“Even though more than nine years have already passed, only 550 mtr of the box drain has been completed so far. We do not think the remaining 2.9 km will be finished in the next 14 months. The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) will not permit box drain construction for four months from July to October by obstructing the main drain in the rainy season,” Katak Baristha Nagarika Mahasabha (KBNM) Secretary Bishnu Mohan Das Samant said.
He also questioned how the agency would be able to complete 84 per cent of the work in 10 months when it took nine years to complete 16 per cent of the box drain project. Efforts to get a response from CMC Commissioner Ananya Das, who is also the Project Director, proved futile.
DELAYED WORK
Total project length is 2.9 km
Foundation stone laid on September 1,2012
Cost of the project has increased from Rs 350 crore to Rs 452 crore now
Revised deadline is July 2023