Cuttack, July 17: Local residents slammed the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) and the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) for the lack of basic civic amenities at a demonstration at CDA Sector VI today. The protest caused traffic jams at various places for around two hours.

“We have been demanding the development of existing civic infrastructure including the repair of roads, proper drainage channels and drinking water facilities. So far, nothing has been done by the authorities,” said Pravat Mishra, a local resident.

Markat Nagar Residential Committee had earlier threatened the civic body that they would stop paying taxes because the CMC had not taken any steps to repair roads that are dotted with potholes.

“No major road repair work has been undertaken by the authorities even after nearly 20 years of the establishment of the CDA. We have submitted a memorandum to the mayor, who has promised us to carry out repair of roads and streetlights within 15 days,” said Markat Nagar Residential Committee secretary Nishakar Das.

The Cuttack Development Authority had handed over the responsibility for the maintenance and repair of roads to CMC in 2007. The maintenance of the underground sewerage was also transferred to the CMC last year.

Apart from local residents, political parties including the Cuttack city Congress also protested against the delay in the execution of various developmental works in the CDA that is affecting the lives of hundreds of residents here.

The Congress activists today blocked a road near JPM eye hospital demanding immediate measures to resolve the grievances of the CDA residents.

“No developmental work has been undertaken either by the development authority or the corporation in Sectors I to XIII of the CDA in the past five years,” said Cuttack City Congress president Mohammad Moquim.

Moquim said the Congress would intensify their agitation if no urgent measures were undertaken by the CMC for the all-around development of the various sectors under CDA. Vehicular traffic was disrupted for nearly two hours because the approach and main roads leading to Sectors VI, VII and VIII were blocked by Congress activists.

This caused a lot of inconvenience to the commuters who were stranded on the street for hours.

“We welcome the agitation by political parties to press for the demands of the local residents. However, they should not block roads because many commuters face problems,” said Rahul Agarwal, a commuter.

Mayor Saumendra Ghose said work for the repair of the roads would be undertaken in the CDA area soon.