Residents block road by burning tyres in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Sept. 15: Residents of Markatnagar at Cuttack Development Area’s (CDA) Sector-6 today staged a demonstration protesting against civic “neglect” after a portion of a sewerage sump on the footpath caved in there.

Demanding urgent measures for repairing local roads and sewerage, members of the Markatnagar Residents’ Association burnt tyres and blocked the JPM Eye Hospital Road for several hours.

“The pipes broke because of blockage in the channel. This led to caving in of a portion of the sump last night on JPM Eye Hospital Road. There was also a huge hole on the footpath,” said Pradip Sahu, 35, a resident of Markatnagar.

A faulty sewerage is to be blamed for the incident as no step was allegedly being taken for the repair and maintenance of the underground channels.

Local residents said they were facing a lot of problems in the area, starting from poor roads to overflowing sewerage tanks. They also alleged that the civic authorities had not taken any steps to solve these problems despite repeated requests made by them.

“It takes around three hours for the rainwater accumulated on the streets to subside. Large craters on the roads pose threats to the lives of residents as well as other commuters,” said Dharmesh Nayak, 41, another resident of CDA Sector-6.

He said that a bus was to be lifted with the help of crane after it got stuck in a pothole on JPM Eye Hospital Road two days ago.

Hundreds of other commuters also face difficulty while travelling from one end of the road to the other because of large craters.

Vehicular traffic was disrupted from 8.30am to 12 noon as residents blocked the road today. The residents were also supported in their protest by Congress activists.

“The protest was needed here as the civic authorities have not paid any attention to the plight of the residents who have been reeling from neglect for a couple of years. It has already been seven months that the CDA has handed over the responsibility of maintenance of roads and sewerage to the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC). But, nothing has changed here,” said Gagadhar Panda, joint-secretary of the Markatnagar Residents’ Association.

Later today, the situation was brought under control and the road blockade was lifted after local councillor Hrushikesh Dehury and CMC executive engineer Ashok Kumar Parida arrived at the spot and promised to take immediate measures for repairs and maintenance of the sewerage channels.

“A blockage and a subsequent seepage in the sewerage have led to caving in of a portion of the sewerage sump. Our officials have visited the spot and steps will be taken to repair the sewerage channels at CDA,” said Dehury.

The residents’ association has, however, threatened to intensify their agitation if their demands are not met soon.