Bhubaneswar, Sept. 25: A dug-up road at Shantinagar in Jharpada is causing frequent accidents and inconvenience to commuters here.

Shantinagar has emerged as a major residential area with several builders coming up with their projects here, but a huge cave-in in the middle of the road from Shantinagar to Jharpada jail has become a major problem for the commuters.

Local resident Jogamaya Nanda said the road was dug up for a project that started four years ago.

The project is yet to be completed, but the five-feet depression created on the road has made the stretch unsafe for motorists.

"Accidents are occurring here on a daily basis. Two-wheelers often fall into the ditch. Besides, when vehicles coming from the opposite directions often collide while trying to avoid the ditch," Nanda said.

Nanda also said that during the rainy season, the smell emanating from the garbage dumped on the ditch becomes unbearable. The irrigation department had started a project to build a sump where the water from natural drain channel no. 10, which flows along the road, was to be collected and diverted towards the Daya west canal that flows through Jharpada.

The residents had demanded the construction of a broad crested weir at the spot to divert the drain water towards Daya west canal. The work on construction of the sump was taken over by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation in 2015.

Another local resident, Sandip Mohapatra, 29, said the civic body had given the responsibility to build the sump to a contractor who made the matter worse by widening the ditch on the road.

He said, besides drain water, dumped garbage had also covered the dug-up stretch of the road. "The road has become a home to snakes and rodents as well," said Mohapatra.

The Daya west canal, flowing through Jharpada, is also a cause of worry because of lack of de-siltation. The canal overflows during the rainy season. This apart, the accumulation of solid waste on drainage channel no. 10 has made life difficult for the residents here.

An elderly local resident Pradosh Sarangi, 60, said that they regularly engaged private cleaning staff to clean garbage from the drain.

The ward No. 33 councillor Suresh Chandra Jena, said that they had requested the public works department to construct the broad crested weir and connect the drain to Daya west canal.

"The works department officials had visited the spot to assess the situation and have assured that the work will be completed shortly," he said.