People have a difficult time wading through sewage and rainwater at Subhadra Nagar in ward No. 1 of Cuttack Municipal Corporation. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Aug. 6: Large potholes, roads that haven’t been concretised, no drainage system and waterlogging dog Subhadra Nagar in Bidanasi.

It’s easy to mistake Bidanasi for a remote village while walking down the lanes of Subhadranagar locality.

Home to over 1,500 families, Subhadranagar, which falls in ward No. 1 of Cuttack Municipal Corporation, still lacks road and sanitation facilities.

“We are yet to see development of our locality. It lacks basic civic amenities such as better roads,” said William Choudhry, 72, a local resident.

Choudhry, who has been staying at Subhadra Nagar since 2000, said the residents had developed the road in their locality in 2003 by collecting funds from local residents.

Though the municipal corporation had carried out repairs in 2008, no steps were taken to concretise the roads.

“Potholes now dot the entire stretch of the main road at Subhadranagar. Residents here have a tough time walking down these potholed, undulating streets,” Choudhry added.

Many commuters depend use the Subhadranagar road to go to Nua Sahi, Mund Sahi and several other localities of Bidanasi.

The road also acts as a link between Bidanasi and Sector 10 of the satellite township at CDA.

Local residents allege that despite repeated complaints, the condition of the roads here is yet to improve. To make matters worse, the civic body has dumped debris on the roads to raise their level as a temporary measure to prevent accumulation of water.

“There is acute waterlogging here as there is no drainage system. All the wastewater accumulates on the roads for days together because of its absence,” said Indramani Sahu, 65, another local resident.

Not only Subhadranagar, the condition of roads in other lanes and bylanes of Bidanasi are also in deplorable condition because repairs have never been carried out.

“Not a single road in Bidanasi is in proper shape. Commuters like us have a lot of trouble navigating these streets, especially at night, as it is hard to spot the potholes filled with water,” said Subharakant Das, a commuter.

Local councillor Nirupama Hati, on the other hand, claimed that a proposal had already been made for construction and repairs of the road at Subhadranagar.

“The repairs will be carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 8 lakh. The work is likely to begin in a couple of months after the tender is finalised,” said Hati.