Bhubaneswar, June 18: The main road passing through Badagada Brit Colony has started to resemble the Moon’s surface. Puddles that look like craters, large loose stones and jutting sewerage chambers add substance to this resemblance.

Schoolchildren are the worst sufferers, say residents, with many of them falling into the puddles on the road that connects Badagada with Tankapani Road.

For the 20,000 residents of the colony, the condition of the road is a major cause for concern.

Around 5,000 households, including more than 2,000 houses of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority, are located along the 300-metre stretch of this road.

Sources in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation said the sewerage laying work had started two years ago but a major portion was only completed last month. “The replacement of pipe water lines on the road led to delay in repair of the road,” said a corporation official.

Local residents, especially schoolchildren, suffer the most. Residents said schoolchildren have met with accidents in the recent past because of the poor condition of the road. “The monsoon has already hit the state. If the road is not repaired at the earliest we will face a lot of difficulties,” said Rabindra Kumar Sahu, a businessman who stays in the area.

Besides connecting Badagada with Tankapani Road, the road is significant due to the presence of a number of educational institutes in the area.

Local councillor Ashok Singh said he had been running from pillar to post to start the repairs as soon as possible. “I have met officials of the sewerage board and the public works department (PWD) several times ask them to start the repairs,” said Singh.

However, PWD officials said a tender had already been floated to carry out the repairs. “It will take another 15 days to start repairs on the road,” said the PWD executive engineer of division I, M. Tripathy.

The ongoing sewerage laying work has left many roads in the city in poor shape. The roads include some arterial streets of Tankapani Road and Saheed Nagar areas.

“In most of the cases, we have deposited the required amount of money with either the corporation or PWD for the repairs,” said project engineer of the sewerage board B.K. Parida.

Not only the main road but also many other internal roads of BMC are facing the same situation. The road leading towards the Badagada police station also needs urgent repairs.

“It has been two years since we have been facing difficulties due to bad shape of roads. Though a number of influential persons, including a retired government officer, stay in the colony, they have not been able to make the civic body improve road conditions,” said Pitambar Samal, a local resident.

Sources in the Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board said the delay in completing work on the sewerage line on the road was mainly due to the narrowness of the road.

“We had to dig the road while ensuring vehicular movement on the road,” said a senior official of the board.