A potholed street at Jobra in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Sept. 8: The condition of most roads in the city is terrible and the situation at Jobra has assumed serious proportions.

Commuters here have a tough time negotiating big craters on the road, which pose a threat to their lives and limbs.

“The roads here are in a very bad shape and it is getting very difficult to travel from one end of the road to the other. The situation gets worse when it rains, as then you cannot see the craters because of accumulated water,” said Deepak Mishra, 31, who commutes regularly on the stretch between Malgodown police station and College Square.

Jobra Road, an extremely busy stretch, acts as a connecting link between Jagatpur, Sikharpur, Cantonment Road, College Square and the railway station and thousands of people depend on it.

“Because of bad road conditions, the traffic here moves at a snail’s pace. Moreover, no step is being taken by the officials of the roads and buildings department to repair the stretch,” said R.K. Nayak, 37, another commuter. Nayak said the condition of roads at Mahanadi Vihar, Sikharpur, Ranihat Medical Road and CDA was no different.

Hundreds of Youth Congress activists today staged a demonstration in front of the collector’s office to protest against the condition of roads. They also submitted a memorandum to the officials of the district administration. “Majority of roads under Cuttack Municipal Corporation, roads and buildings department, Idco, irrigation and railways have turned into death traps. School students, office-goers and other commuters are facing a lot of difficulties on the roads in the city,” said Congress leader Suresh Mohapatra.

Though the authorities claimed that road repair work for the repair of the roads would be completed after the rainy season, Mohapatra feared it would not be over before Durga Puja.

“Today, we submitted a memorandum demanding immediate execution of repair works on a war footing,” he said.

Officials of the district administration said efforts would be initiated to speed up repair work on major roads in the city.