CUTTACK: Even as increasing air pollution has become a cause of concern for Cuttack residents, the Kathajodi ring road expansion work which is currently underway in the city, has added to their plight as the dust generated from the construction activity is not being properly suppressed, making it difficult to even breathe in the area.
Sources said construction of the six-lane Kathajodi ring road is being undertaken from Khannagar Malachandia Chowk to Link Road for over a stretch of 2.85 km. The construction work has been entrusted to RKD Construction Pvt Ltd at a cost of Rs 170.55 crore.
The granular sub-base (GSB) for expansion of the ring road is being prepared using crusher dust. The dust generated needs to be properly suppressed by sprinkling water from time to time. However sources said, the water sprinkling activity is not being done regularly owing to which the GSB gets dried up and causes dust pollution. In such a situation, dust has been filling the air, leading to respiratory issues among locals.
Sources said the roadwork is being undertaken on EPC mode with Sai Chaitanya Project Consultancy Limited as the authority engineer for supervision of the work. However, the overall supervision responsibility is of the superintending engineer (SE), R&B, Cuttack division-1.
Similar situation prevails in Bidanasi locality where expansion of Mahanadi ring road to six lanes is currently being carried out. The road is being expanded from Chahata to Madhusudan Setu. However, inadequate sprinkling of water has triggered severe air pollution in the area.
“Though we have been requesting the site engineers to sprinkle water at regular intervals, they are just ignoring our pleas,” said some locals of Bidanasi.
SE, R&B, Cuttack division-1 Md Shahbaz declined to comment on the issue.