Muck-filled water flows through the colony.

Bhubaneswar, July 20: The state of roads that runs through a housing colony near Patia speaks volumes about the condition in which 10,000 residents of the settlement live. The colony in ward No. 1 presents a rural look in the absence of proper roads and sewerage network.

Living under such conditions since 1994, the residents first saw a glimmer of hope when after several complaints the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) granted Rs 15lakh for a road and drainage project in the area. But their hope died young as work on the project stopped two days after the project was launched.

“The work was fraught with fundamental confusion. The internal road is 80ft wide but the BMC contractor insisted on construction 20ft wide roads. The original plan had 30ft wide stretches flanking a 20ft plantation divider in the middle. However, the contractor’s design and demarcation of space for drains made the roads even narrower than the plan of the Orissa State Housing Board (OSHB). However, the BMC executive engineer has assured us that if there is any disparity in the work being carried out and the OSHB map, things will be sorted out,’’ said Sanjib Kumar Rout, a lawyer and secretary of the Prasanti Vihar Unnayan Parishad (PVUP).

Peeved at the state of affairs, he said: “The colony had no proper approach road till 2008 and after a fight with some land owners we got our rights protected by Orissa High Court. But see the condition of the road now, the civic authorities are not bothered about it,’’ he said.

The roads inside the colony are in a bad shape and during monsoon the condition worsens further.

The entrance to the colony near the Hanuman Temple gets waterlogged for at least three days even after a normal shower. There is not a single drain inside the colony. This makes it a horrible place as rainwater get mixed up with the waste.

President of PVUP and senior citizen Bishnu Charan Das said: “Our colony has 18 open spaces, but the civic authorities or the OSHB have not planned a single park for the recreation of residents. While the state government is trying to promote sports, the absence of any park in the vast stretch speaks about the city administration’s lack of interest in this peripheral area. With the Bhubaneswar Development Authority spreading wings to places such as Delang, how an area near KIIT University remains neglected for long is really surprising.’’

Apart from the problems of road and drainage system, sewerage pipeline laying work is not part of the plan for the area. The public health engineering organisation is yet to start pipe-water supply in the colony.

Senior project engineer, Orissa Water Supply and Sewerage Board, B.K. Parida said the areas would be included under District VI of the sewerage project for which some areas of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar would be taken as one unit.

The colony residents are also not happy with the solid waste disposal system as BMC workers do not turn up for collection regularly.

“We have got an assurance for more dustbins from the BMC authorities, but the extra bins are yet to arrive,’’ said an PVUP office-bearer.