A simple project of covering a 1.85-km-long drain along the Ashiana-Digha road has been stalled till the monsoon ends, leaving commuters and residents in the lurch.

The project will miss its deadline a third time in three years. The Ashiana-Digha road is a two-way single lane road 7m wide. Once the drain is covered, the stretch from Ashiana Mor to Rajiv Nagar drain would be 14m wide, enabling double-laning on both sides.

But the ongoing work was stopped in the first week of June under instructions from the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd (BRPNNL).

Thanks to the rains and the stalled work, the stretch has become a commuters’ nightmare because of potholes, puddles and mud. “Mounds of mud have formed wherever the soil has been dug up for the drain work. During rains, the mounds create dangerous road conditions. Deep puddles have formed on the roadside, a recipe for accidents. It’s completely ridiculous that work has been abandoned in such circumstances,” said Raghunandan Prasad, secretary of Magistrate Colony Co-operative Society.

“PMC asked us to stop the work from June saying the drain cannot be blocked during monsoon. Our work involves raising a boundary wall on either side of the drain and putting a concrete cover thereafter. During construction, drainage flow on the stretch is stopped. Acting on the civic body’s orders, we have stopped work. It will resume only after monsoon,” said Jamil Akbar, senior project engineer, road division, Patna, BRPNNL.

Akbar claimed that work was in the final stages, just 250m of the 1,850-m stretch remains to be covered. Work was originally scheduled to end by January 2011 but was extended, first till March 31, 2012, and then till June 30, 2013. (See graphic)

PMC officials seemed firm on disallowing any progress despite the problems commuters face. “We cannot allow the drains to be blocked during monsoon. BRPNNL people can do surface work. But work that requires blocking the drain would not be allowed before August,” said Sheshank Shekhar Sinha, executive officer, New Capital circle, PMC.

“Work on this project has been going on for around four years. I have seen numerous accidents. Forget driving, it is highly risky to even walk on this stretch. Who’ll take blame if someone gets hurt or dies in a road mishap,” asked R.S. Choudhary, former chief town planner, who resides at Abhiyanta Nagar near Ashiana-Digha Road.

Another menace arising out of the ongoing work is draining out waste waster from houses in the neighbouring areas. Sewage from all internal drains and storm water is discharged into the Ashiana-Digha drain. All such internal drains were supposed to be discharged into an alternative service canal, but no such canal has been dug, leading to overflowing drains.