Markets remain closed as residents protest lack of civic amenities at CDA colony in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Aug. 8: A strike called by local residents to protest lack of civic amenities in the satellite township of CDA today threw life out of gear.

All shops, educational institutions, banks and other government offices inside the CDA area remained closed. The area wore a deserted look.

“We have received several assurances from the authorities of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA), but they are yet to take measures for the all-round development of various sectors in CDA,” said Sanjay Behera, 31, a resident of Sector 9. Behera said all major roads and bylanes of CDA were dotted with craters and open manholes, which were posing a serious threat to the life and limb of residents and commuters.

Earlier, the Markatnagar Residential Committee had also staged a protest demanding urgent measures for the repair of roads and development of underground sewerage systems. The CDA had handed over the responsibility for the maintenance and repair of roads to the CMC in 2007. The maintenance of the underground sewerage systems was also transferred to CMC last year.

Besides local residents, the Cuttack Nagar Congress also observed a strike today to protest against the “callous” attitude of the corporation and the development authority.

This is the second time in the past 20 days that the Cuttack Nagar Congress resorted to a road blockade demanding concrete measures for development work at CDA.

“We had recently given a 15-day deadline to the CMC for taking steps for the repair of roads and other issues. But as no steps were taken by the officials, we called a strike which has been successful,” said Cuttack Nagar Congress president Mohammad Moquim. The activists burnt tyres and blocked all the roads connecting various sectors of CDA. Commuters were stranded on the roads for over four hours because of the roadblock.

“I had come to visit my sister who is staying at Sector 9. But because of the road blockade we were not allowed to enter CDA via the JPM Eye Hospital Road. I had to park my car near a petrol pump and had to cover a distance of nearly 2km on foot,” said Partha Sahu, a resident of Khannagar.

“The development authority has agreed to provide Rs 7 crore towards the repair of roads. The work order for the repair of three major roads has already been given and work is expected to begin shortly,” said mayor Saumendra Ghose.

Ghose said the strike called by the Congress was politically motivated, as a committee comprising officials of the engineering wing of CMC had already been constituted to review the problem of the underground sewerage at CDA.