Balasore, Jan. 25: Residents today put up a roadblock along the three-km stretch known as Indira Gandhi Marg, connecting ITI Square and Hemkapada Square here following the death of a school student in an accident last evening.

A truck knocked down Chinmay Panda, a Class V student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, yesterday when he was going to a private coaching centre on a bicycle.

The victim, who had been rushed to district headquarters hospital, died on the way.

Soon after the mishap, the villagers damaged the lorry, burnt tyres and put up a roadblock.

“This road has been lying dilapidated for years. But, the concerned authorities have not yet taken any step. The patch work done is not withstanding the traffic load and wear and tear,” said Amarendra Patra, a local resident.

The irate villagers have picketed erecting barriers from both ends of the road, paralysing traffic. They had been demanding renovation of the road.

“Accidents have become order of the day because of the road’s bad condition. We have resorted to roadblock to press for its repair,” he said.

Vice-chairman of the Balasore Municipality Manoj Rout, who is also resident of the affected area, said: “The villagers have vented their anger as no one is paying any heed to their repeated pleas.”

Earlier, the defence establishment at Chandipur had repaired the road under the Balasore Municipality on request of the district administration.

“We have tried to hand over the road to the defence establishment, but it couldn’t materialise because of technical reasons. The defence authorities did some patch works. Finally, the urban development department has cleared the proposal to hand over the road to the works department,” said the municipality’s executive officer Purna Chandra Mishra.

District collector Ranjit Mohanty said: “The notification for handing over the road by the urban development has been published. The works department will begin the repair and renovation work after competing the official procedures.”