Four major thoroughfares in the city have one thing in common — they are a nightmare for motorists. Made worse by rain, the roads are dotted with crumbling bitumen, perilous potholes and craters. Sandeep Mishra of The Telegraph visits these stretches and finds out just how dangerous these roads have become for commuters

SUM HOSPITAL SQUARE

Condition: The road connecting the Sum Hospital, a major health care facility, is full of potholes and puddles. Matters take a turn for the worse when it rains. Even ambulances carrying patients are forced to slow down

Commuter’s voice: It’s very difficult to move on this stretch with so many potholes. Since craters have developed here, everybody tries to circumvent them and continue perilously on the unbroken parts. The chance of accidents is high. People are often forced to take a detour even if it takes a longer time

Jayanta Maharana, motorist

KALINGA STUDIO SQUARE

Condition: This is yet another busy stretch in the city with a steady flow of vehicles. The College of Engineering and Technology (CET) is located at Ghatikia nearby and a number of students take this road to reach the college. But the pothole-punctured stretch makes driving very difficult. Local residents said two to three accidents occur here every day 

Commuter’s voice: I live in a rented house near Kalinga Studio. I usually take this road to reach my college. But the stretch makes it very difficult to ride a bike. The potholes have also caused a lot of damage to my two-wheeler. So, nowadays I prefer to take the longer route

Suramya Mishra, CET student 

APPROACH ROAD TOWARDS CUTTACK

Condition: Rasulgarh flyover was opened last year. The opening of this bridge came as a relief to commuters who often got caught in heavy traffic on this part of the National Highway 16. However, the approach road to the flyover from the Cuttack end is not in a good condition. Scarred with potholes, it poses a danger to motorists. Over 50,000 people reside in and around this area, which also houses a major medical college and hospital 

Commuter’s voice: The situation on this road was better before the opening of the flyover. The administration has forgotten to maintain the approach road. It is sheer apathy on the part of the government. They should repair it immediately

Bikash Nayak, Palasuni resident

APPROACH ROAD TOWARDS BHUBANESWAR

Condition: The situation here is not very different. The administration had in the past demolished several buildings on this side of Rasulgarh flyover to expand the road but the work was stopped abruptly. It resulted in potholes sprouting and the drain water to overflow on to the road 

Official’s voice: The construction of the road was taken up in collaboration with the state government and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The work had to be stopped in view of an agitation by the local residents and also the monsoon. We will resume work after monsoon is over

NHAI official

PWD SPEAKS

The potholes appear during the monsoon. Our officials are monitoring the situation and undertaking repairs. Permanent repairs will happen after the monsoon season draws to an end
OP Patel, chief engineer (roads), works department