Bhubaneswar, March 8: A road expansion work near the Tapovan High School on the foothills of Udayagiri has invited protests from local residents, students, teachers, parents and activists. They claim the expansion work will not only fell hundreds of trees, but also threaten the security of the existing girls hostel.
The residential school under the administration of the SC and ST welfare department was established in 1964 to educate the tribal children.
"Already a four-lane road network is encircling the twin hills of Khandagiri-Udayagiri and there is no need to expand the existing road,'' said advocate Banibrat Tripathy.
Tripathy, who is also an RTI activist, told The Telegraph: "While the land has been handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) from the school management, no compensation has been made till date."
Local resident and environmentalist S.N. Patro said: "While the school area should be free from sound pollution, the expansion of the road near the school would cause more noise."
When contacted, PWD assistant engineer Himanshu Sarangi said: "The expansion of the road for a stretch (less than one kilometre) will be done mainly to straighten a blind curve just before the school campus. It was necessary since the blind curve is causing problems for commuters while driving."
"We are expanding the road to the minimum as sewerage lines are existing on both sides and the minimum damage to environment is our top priority,'' said another PWD official.
Sarangi also said after the expansion is done near the boundary wall of the girls' hostel, a high security boundary wall would be constructed so that the girls of the hostel feel secure. Streetlight provisions by the civic authorities could also be made to put the area near the hostel under illumination during night hours to ensure more security.
PWD officials also think that during the Nabakalebar event in Puri, many visitors will visit the Khandagiri-Udayagiri hills and the road near the Tapovan High School needs immediate expansion for better traffic management.
