It has hardly been a month since the improvised six-km Daya left embankment was inaugurated with much fanfare by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The road connecting Sardeipur to Khaguapada has now developed cracks and potholes, raising doubts about the quality of work. The six-km improvement to the Daya left embankment was commenced on April 20, 2013 and was completed on March 19, 2015 at a cost of Rs 5,11,96,228 of NABARD assistance. It was a case of single-bid tender awarded with apparent political patronage.
Incidentally, it was on May 6 that the Chief Minister inaugurated the road in the presence of local MP Prasanna Patsani and local MlA and Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Panda and many others. Now, the entire road has developed cracks due to poor quality of construction. It was alleged that though as per the agreement it has been clearly specified not to use sand, sandy and slushy soil but the same has been deliberately used and the payment against it was also made.
During the execution of the work, when local residents protested against use of poor quality construction materials the contractor with the help of political higher-ups used police force to intimidate the protesters. It is suspected that the developed embankment which was termed as one of the best examples of qualitative work at the time of inauguration, may not able to withstand the ensuing monsoon shower impact and may endanger the lives and properties of villagers during possible floods.
The poor quality work is clearly evident from the cracks shown in the photographs accompanying this story. Although the concerned authorities have been informed about the status of the newly opened road by the local Dhauli Sarpanch, the Water Resources Department is yet to take note of the issue. Dhauli Sarpanch Rabi Maharana has brought the issue to the notice of the concerned authorities like Water Resources Principal Secretary, Private Secretary to CM and Puri Irrigation Division Executive Engineer, under whose jurisdiction the project is located, and urged them to probe into the corruption in execution of the project.
“How could a one-month-old road develop such serious cracksIJ Prima facie, it reveals that quality has not been maintained by the contractor. Neither the contractor did the job properly nor did the supervising authorities discharge their duties properly, resulting in pilferage of huge public money,” said Maharana.
He urged the Chief Minister to intervene in the matter by taking stringent legal action against the contractor and the concerned Government agencies for not working as per the standard specifications. He also blamed some local BJD leaders for the substandard work. “We will soon seek legal redressal in the issue if no Government action is taken against the erring persons,” added Maharana.