As most of projects for smooth conduct of the Nabakalebar ritual of lord Jagannath and other deities are far behind the timeline, pilgrims would be in great difficulty, said Congress leader and former PCC working president lalatendu Bidyadhar Mahapatra here.
Mahapatra said over 50 lakh devotees are expected to participate in the twin festivals of Nabakalebar and Rath Yatra but the preparedness is poor. Mahapatra alleged that huge funds allocated for several works are being misutilised and the quality of work is far from prescribed norms. Huge funds have been swindled due to politician-contractor nexus, alleged Mahapatra, saying that lack of coordination among various departments of the Government is likely to mar the prospects of a smooth conduct of the fete.
Construction of drainage and sewer network falls far short of the target. While target was for constructing 60 km stretch of drain in the city, only 20 km of drain has been completed. There is great discrepancy in satellite imagery and ground reality survey for the laying of drainage lines. The faulty drain lines lacking required uniform levels would cause major health issue because of obstruction in drainage, Mohapatra opined.
Besides, Mahapatra said that target to augment power supply to the city is in a limbo. It was announced that for the festival, 150 specialist doctors, 200 assistant surgeons and 1,000 paramedics would be pressed into service. Surprisingly, the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH), which has got ISO certificate, has no cardiology, neurology and nephrology departments.
There is acute shortage of other medical support staff, Mahapatra alleged. “The target to increase beds in DHH has become a day dream. The DHH has no special facility to treat swine flu and Ebola patients. Since millions of devotees from across the country would flock to the tiny city, there is possibility of spread of these dreadful diseases but the Government looks ill-equipped,” Mahapatra said.
Expressing concern over the tardy progress of various other projects, Mahapatra said widening of all connecting routes to Puri remain incomplete, while double tracking of railway lines between Sakhigopal and Puri is moving at a snail’s pace. If the momentum continues, it will be impossible to complete it before July, he said.
Similar is the situation of four laning of Puri-Bhubneswar NH. The work is lagging behind the target time. Apart from these the quality of work of the road construction inside the city is substandard and the roads constructed anew need another set of repairs, he added.
Mahapatra also expressed concern over nonpayment of remunerations to the Daitas for their service during the last Rath Yatra and the ongoing repair and conservation work of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) which is on for the last 40 years. DCC president Sarat Rath and Congress leader Priyadarshan Pattnaik were present.