ROURKELA: Giving in to the growing public demand, the Works department has reportedly entrusted the Road and Building (R&B) division with the task of carrying out a feasibility survey for the proposed outer ring road around Rourkela city.
This development assumes significance in the wake of the comprehensive development plan which envisages formation of Greater Rourkela comprising new areas around the city.
RN Pali MLA Durga Charan Tanti said after receiving representations from various outfits, he had taken up the demand for an outer ring road around Rourkela with the Works department which has recently tasked the R&B division to conduct a feasibility survey. The outer ring road around Rourkela is proposed to cover Lathikata, Rajgangpur, Kuanrmunda, Nuagaon and Bisra blocks to set up robust connectivity for the city with rural pockets and also boost the local economy.
While R&D superintending engineer Alok Nayak was not immediately available for details, sources informed that the survey would assess feasibility of the ring road proposal along with geographical and technical challenges associated with it. Feedback from various stakeholders including elected people’s representatives would also be collected.
In March, Works Minister Prithviraj Harichandan had announced plans for setting up a ring road around Rourkela and an iconic suspension bridge with glass flooring over Brahmani river at Vedvyas. Despite the minister’s announcement, there has been no further visible progress.
In fact, the suspension bridge proposal to connect Harapoka ghat at Panposh with the Vedvyas temple complex is hanging fire for over a decade despite multiple surveys and soil testing.
In a letter to the chief engineer (Bridges) in August 2024, the Works department had informed about the government’s decision to take up construction of the proposed suspension bridge and beautification of Brahmani river bank. Subsequently, fresh survey and soil testing were conducted for the project.