A pothole on the road near OUAT in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 5: Lack of coordination between two government departments has resulted in poor maintenance of roads causing problems to commuters.

The road connecting Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) with Ganganagar Square is in bad shape because of lack of coordination between public works department (PWD) and public health engineering organisation (PHEO).

A water supply pipe passing under the road has created a number of craters on its surface. There are a total of 29 potholes on this road. Initially, the pipeline was located on one side of the road. But following road expansion, the pipeline has come in the middle of the road, damaging the road all the more.

“Everyone is aware of the problem. But the responsibility to remove the pipeline lies with the PHEO department. We have already granted Rs 49 lakh for the shifting the pipeline. But they are demanding another Rs 1.9 crore for this work. The condition of the road will remain poor if the pipeline is not removed from its middle,” said Ranjit Sahoo, executive engineer of division-II.

The PHEO department sources, on the other hand, said the removal of pipeline was an expensive matter. “We have given estimation to the PWD department and also partly removed the pipeline as funds were also released partly. As soon as we receive the remaining amount, we will shift the entire pipeline,” said P.S.N. Patra, executive engineer in-charge of division-III.

The ongoing problem between the two government departments has only put commuters at the receiving end. “There are huge craters on the middle of the road, which create great difficulty for us. The situation worsens during the rainy season as commuters fall into the waterlogged potholes,” said Gadadhar Samal, a commuter.

Local residents, as well as commuters, wondered as to how this important road, which falls in the way of office of the executive engineer division-III, remained in such a state for so long. “Look at the condition of the road. It is really surprising that the authorities move on this road regularly without taking any action,” said Saroj Dhal, another commuter. The residents also demanded a permanent solution to this problem.