Berhampur, Sept. 4: Water from a canal, overflowing as a result of the incessant rain here over the past few days, washed away a diversion road yesterday, leaving thousands of people in the district's Purushottampur, Kodala, Kabisurya Nagar, Polsara and Khallikote areas marooned.

With the road washed away, residents in these areas are finding it hard to reach Berhampur and Chatrapur. Water levels in the Ghodahada river, which feeds the canal, has been rising since the spurt in rainfall over the past few days. This, in turn, has released water into the canal, which overflowed and washed away the road.

The distance between Purushottampur and Berhampur is 35km, which takes an hour to travel via the diversion road. Now, residents have to travel to Berhampur through Hinjili and Nandika or Bhabandha, Pagal Baba Ashram and Nandika or Bhatakumurada, Solaghara and Nandika to Berhampur. All these routes are eight to 10km longer than the one through the diversion road.

In May, the works department began constructing a 50m-long bridge at an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore over the Jayamangal Canal near Tara Tarini Temple Square.

"The diversion road has been washed away and the bridge is not yet ready. We cannot even go to the nearest community health centre at Bhatakumurada. We had great trouble taking a youth, who was injured in a motorcycle accident, to MKCG Hospital in Berhampur," said Purushttampur resident Gopal Krishna Behera.

"The old bridge that was built by the British was demolished in December. Construction of the new bridge was delayed as 30 piles (a pile bridge uses foundations of long poles, which are referred to as piles, made of wood, concrete or steel) were constructed late. We had to arrange for machines from Andhra Pradesh as there was no machine to construct the piles in Odisha," said assistant engineer Fakir Mohan Mishra.

Mishra said they were hopeful of completing the bridge by October 31.

While the main structure of the bridge has already come up, the approach roads are yet to be completed. "We will to shift some electric poles that were obstructing the retains-wall (of the approach road on both sides of the bridge conditions