Unit-III near Exhibition Ground 

Maintenance done by: civic body
Road condition in this densely populated area in the smart district has turned from bad to worse with the authorities taking up an underground cable and drain work. “They dug up roadsides and laid cables, but the cuts weren’t filled up properly. This has made the condition even worse. For the drain work, they have dumped construction materials on the road, damaging it to a great extent,” said resident Mamata Jena.

Old Town 

Maintenance done by: works department and civic body
Roads are in bad shape in this locality also known as Ekamrakshetra. A few roads were repaired in the past one month, but pick-and-choose job has angered residents. One such important road can be spotted near Kedar Gouri Temple, where bumpy rides are the order of the day. “They had started to repair a few roads a month ago. We were optimistic that they would also consider this particular stretch since people use it to visit the temple, but that didn’t happen,” said Old Town resident Dayanidhi Hota.

National Highway 5 near Rasulgarh 

Maintenance done by: National Highways Authority of India
Ever since the Rasulgarh flyover was thrown open to public in 2015, the authorities had turned a blind eye to repair the approach roads running parallel to the flyover. During monsoon, people used to wade through a submerged road, while in summer, dust and potholes add to the trouble. “It is almost three years that the road condition remains the same or has turned worse. Minor accidents are an every day affair here,” said Rasulgarh resident Tutu Baliarsingh.

Kharavela Nagar (Sriya Square to HHI)

Maintenance done by: works dept
An important road in the city’s smart district houses several establishments, including a cinema and a shopping mall. The stretch is filled with potholes and has not been repaired for the past one year. “We have asked the authorities several times to take up repair work, but nothing has happened,” said tea shop owner Ravi Sahu.

AUTHORITIES SPEAK

We are yet to start road repair work. However, we are drawing up a list of damaged roads across the city to start the repair job. The councillors have been asked to submit the list of damaged roads based on citizens’ complaints. The list will be prepared in a fortnight and the repair work will begin soon after

Ananta Narayan Jena
Mayor

We are repairing roads in a phased manner and will cover each of the damaged stretches in a month. We have repaired major arterial stretches in the first phase. The work is almost complete, and now we will shift focus on the internal roads. When it comes to the national highway, we will consult with the National Highways Authority of India and repair the approach roads too 
O.P. Patel
works department chief engineer (roads)?

Compiled by Sandeep Mishra Pictures by Ashwinee Pati