Cuttack: Road work for laying sewer lines across the city has sparked fears of deterioration in their condition.

The apprehensions have gained ground as the dug-up patches are not being properly filled up before restoration. The integrated sanitation project is coming up with funds from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (Jica).

Mahanadi Vihar resident Nayan Mohanty said: “The re-laying is being hurried by filling with sand without strengthening. Certain places are being left for days after sand filling.”

“The manner of work raises doubts about the strength of the roads,” said Mohanty, a vice-president of the state BJP.

Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board chief engineer and Jica project in-charge Basanta Kumar Parida, however, said there was no cause for concern as the restoration was done following the “compaction process”.

“As the foundations across Cuttack are old, the roads in most places are being temporarily restored by sand filling and left for compaction to prevent cave-ins after restoration,” Parida said.

“The process takes 30 to 45 days, and as a result, the roads are left after sand filling. This has led to misconceptions about the strength of the restored roads,” Parida said.

Former urban development minister Samir Dey said: “The manner of work leaves little room for enthusiasm about the quality of roads.”

Parida did acknowledge that a big project of this size was bound to cause difficulties during its execution.

“Things have become difficult as the pace has picked up. We are digging around 8km every day. Vast stretches are dug up and not restored for more than a month at a time. As a result, the problem looks magnified,” he said.

The engineer said the pace could be gauged by the fact that 200km of sewer lines had been laid and connected to pump houses in two years.

The sewerage project envisages a sewage system with a 385km underground gravity sewer line, 36 pumping stations and three sewage treatment plants.

Work on around 252km road has been completed, while construction of 36 pumping stations is under way.