Bhubaneswar: The development authority's decision to improve Kalinga Nagar's road infrastructure with two internal roads has not gone done well with local residents as they continue to demand more development.

Local residents said the area was reeling from infrastructure deficiencies and demanded that the development authority address those.

The locality, on the outskirts of the city, is yet to get proper street lights, absence of which allows criminal activities to peak. Drainage and recreational facilities, including parks, are also missing.

"There is a 100-feet wide main road that lead to our homes, but street lights are missing on the road. Various kinds of people have converted the roads into bars and other such activities. It is risky to move out of the house after 7pm," said Gati Maharana, a resident of K8.

The problems are paramount for those working late-night schedules at work. "I risk my life commuting on these dark roads every night. I have been fortunate enough not to encounter any robbers so far, though I read news reports of such events almost every other day in the newspapers," said Jitendra Hota, a call centre executive.

While the area has a parallel storm water drainage channel along the main road, maintenance of peripheral drains is missing. "We are fortunate that the area is comparatively higher and we don't face problems of waterlogging. However, the roads get muddy during rain because the drains do not discharge the rainwater," said Hota.

In 1994, the development authority started a housing scheme at Kalinga Nagar and developed about 1,312 dwelling units in Higher Income Group, Middle Income Group, Lower Income Group and Economically Weaker Section categories. The houses were completed in 1998.

However, the authorities have failed to improve civic infrastructure of the locality despite almost 20 years passing since the first residents settled down here. "We are steadily improving the area's infrastructure. We have floated tenders for repair of two internal roads at Kalinga Nagar," said an official of the development authority.