BHADRAK: This road leads to disaster, literally. Dug up for construction of culverts and diversions at every next turning, the under-construction road that connects Chandabali and Tihidi blocks with Bhadrak town has snapped connectivity.More than three lakh people remain cut off for four days as the authorities had to dig State Highway 9 at several places for easy passage of rainwater, which had caused extensive damage in roadside villages. While on Monday the construction company temporarily bridged the breaches for vehicular movement after the intervention of the district administration, people fear disaster if such a situation arises again.Construction of 95-km stretch from Anandapur to Chandabali via Bhadrak was taken up in February 2009 at a cost of ` 216 crore and was scheduled to be completed by September this year. The 45-km stretch covers the distance between Bhadrak and Chandabali.Residents allege that not more than 30 per cent of the project has been completed yet. “The project was taken up by ARSS Infrastructure Projects Limited but only 25 km of the 45-km stretch has been completed till now,” said a local leader Bijay Mishra. Though in the recent past a series of agitations had been staged with a demand to repair the potholes and make the road motorable, the company authorities preferred to remain silent leading to monsoon woes. The dilapidated road has proved fatal for many while negotiating diversions and dug up roads. Even pregnant women had delivered babies on the road. Tihidi block Congress president Saroj Das questioned the role of the district administration as it failed to take any action against the company for failure to fulfil its commitments to complete the project. Das has lodged a complaint with Tihidi police station seeking legal action against the construction company and blaming it for the loss of property in rainwater. Collector Akshay Kumar Pani said all the breaches had been repaired and vehicular movement is now smooth. “We had a meeting with the company officials and discussed various issues relating to the delay in the construction. They have agreed to speed up the work and complete the project by year-end,” he added.
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