Cuttack, Sept. 8: The municipal corporation is racing against time to complete repair work and spruce up roads in the city before Durga Puja, which will be celebrated in the last week of this month.

On August 20, the district administration had set September 15 as the pre-Puja deadline for the civic body to complete repairs on all roads under it.

The bad condition of roads dominated the Durga Puja preparatory meeting by the district administration on Wednesday with a number of Puja committees demanding immediate repair of roads in their localities.

Every year on the eve of Durga Puja, roads are repaired and spruced up for smooth conduct of the festival in the city in view of the increase in volume of traffic.

Since the idols of the 150-odd Pujas in the city are taken in a procession on the immersion day, good roads are especially needed for it.

'As there had been virtually no improvement in the condition of roads, including some of the busiest ones in the city, almost all Puja committees expressed concern over the delay this year,' Cuttack Mahanagar Puja Committee secretary Pravat Tripathy told The Telegraph today.

'Taking serious note of it, the Cuttack collector has set September 20 as fresh deadline for completion of the work by the municipal corporation, irrigation department and works department in the roads under their respective jurisdictions,' Tripathy said.

Cuttack Mahanagar Puja Committee is the umbrella organisation of all the Puja committees in the city and the collector is its ex-officio president.

Around 435km road are under the control of the municipal corporation.

'Rs 5 lakh has been provided to each of the 59 wards for repairing potholes on the roads ahead of Dussehra this year,' municipal commissioner Bikash Mohapatra told The Telegraph today.

'The estimates have been prepared and the process of issuing work orders has started. We will complete the work before September 20,' Mohapatra said.

Officials of the irrigation and works departments said the road repair and renovation has already begun in stretches under their control.

'Priority is expected to be given to the main thoroughfare,' Cuttack collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra said.