(From top) Garbage lie unattended on the roadside, water accumulated on a road in Markatnagar andan overflowing sewerage tank at CDA sector 6. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Jan. 3: Better roads, sanitation and other civic amenities are still a distant dream for residents of a satellite township being developed by the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) on the eastern and the south-western fringes of the city.

Open manholes, potholes and water-logged roads and overflowing underground sewerage tanks remain a common feature at Sector 6 and 7 of Markatnagar.

The deteriorating condition of roads in the lanes and by-lanes of Sector 6 and 7 and lack of other civic amenities have become a matter of concern. Local residents say that despite repeated complaints, no steps have been taken to address their grievances. “The condition of roads is one of the major problems here. Many accidents take place because of the gaping potholes,” said a resident of Sector 6, Basanti Jena (70).

“Just the past week, three to four accidents have taken place in the area. One can easily avoid potholes during the day but it becomes hard for senior citizens like us to walk out of our homes in the evening,” Jena added.

Ranjita Parija (38), another local resident, said: “Although the region is being called a satellite township, civic amenities are almost negligible. Apart from bad roads, one finds it difficult to cope with sewerage tanks overflowing onto the middle of the roads.”

Sources said the population in CDA Sector 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 is over three lakh and permanent steps have not been taken by the officials to address grievances of the residents. Only in October last year, residents of Abhinav Bidanasi, Markatnagar and other areas had gheraoed the CDA office demanding immediate maintenance of drainage and sewerage system in the area.

“The underground drainage system here is a total failure. Drain water is overflowing as the channel has been merged with sewerage lines. Apart from this, no step has been taken for the repairs of the roads for a long time,” said joint secretary of Markatnagar Residential Association, Gadadhar Sahoo.

Residents complain that garbage too piles up without being cleared for a long time and sweepers engaged to maintain cleanliness in the area remove garbage only twice a week.

“We have brought such irregularities to the notice of the district administration, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation commissioner and the vice-chairman of CDA. But so far, no permanent steps have been taken to solve these problems. Though the officials had assured us they would solve the problems within 15 days, no step has been taken after three months. We hope that things will improve in our area as we have filed a writ petition in the high court on the issue,” Sahoo added.