The road that passes through the Ruchika market area at Baramunda in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, July 22: Bumpy roads filled with mud and slush, coupled with the lack of streetlights in some areas of the Baramunda Housing Board Colony have made life difficult for local residents.

Authorities said the repair work had not been carried out because the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation had not released funds for some roads.

Satya Ranjan Behera, who works at the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology and resides in the Ruchika market area near the Housing Board Colony said the road in front of his house goes past Census and RBI colonies. But it has been lying in a sorry state for more than two years. “This road, which is hardly 200 meters long, had been dug up to lay sewer pipelines but was never repaired. Whenever we come out of our house, mud and slush welcome us. Besides, there are several big potholes,” said Behera.

The fate of a road parallel to this one that passes through Ruchika market is no different. Though more than 10,000 people use these two roads everyday, the authorities hardly seem worried about taking steps to repair them.

Vinay Kumar, an engineering student who stays at a private hostel nearby said he and his friends, who had to go to eateries around the market for their daily meals, faced problems because of the sad state of the roads.

“We have to be extra cautious while walking here. There are high chances of car drivers losing control and hitting pedestrians around here. We have seen several minor accidents taking place here,” said Kumar.

Local residents are of the view that since these two roads are located near a busy market, it should have drawn the attention of the authorities long ago. But they seem indifferent to it. Also, several roads located inside the residential areas are in poor condition. When it rains, it becomes difficult to walk or drive through these roads.

One such road connects the Housing Board Colony to the newly-developed Gayatri Vihar colony. “The road is in bad shape. Though house rents in this area are extremely high, the condition of amenities such as roads, streetlights and sanitation make life miserable,” said Kalpalatika Pal, a homemaker.

The lack of streetlights has added to the problems of the residents. Many burglary and snatching incidents have occurred on the dark stretches of the roads.

Local councillor Pratap Sahu said the roads in Ruchika market would be repaired after the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation sanctions the money. “The cost of repairing these two roads has been estimated to be around Rs 22 lakh. The work will start after the corporation sanctions the amount,” said Sahu, adding that since the laying of sewer pipelines had not been started on some other roads, repair of those stretches would be delayed.

He also said that streetlights were maintained regularly, but at times, goons damaged them. “The sanitation and cleanliness activities are conducted regularly in our area. If there is any problem, it will be taken care of,” he said.

Junior engineer of Odisha State Water Supply and Sewerage Board Bijay Kumar Panda said the laying of sewer pipelines in Ruchika market was complete and it was the civic body’s job to repair the roads there. However, he said that there were certain roads where laying of sewage lines would be done in the second phase and that would be carried out by the public works department. But, he could not say when the second phase would start.