The NH-16, especially the stretch between Naharpatna and Maitapur, has become precarious due to inordinate delay by a private construction company in completing the project of expansion works of the four-lane road.
The commuters allege that driving on the stretch of road is a nightmare because one way the road has been closed, while there are humps and diversions at several places, which is why the road has turned accident prone.
These diversions and one way traffic also consume more travel time and the patients in the ambulances going for emergency treatment for higher stations at Cuttack and Bhubaneswar are the worst sufferers. The commuters blame the NH authorities for their callousness to complete the project.
The tender for expansion of the 62 km stretch was awarded in 2019 and the target date of completion was 2021. Surprisingly, despite facing time overrun by a year, the project has been completed by only about fifty percent so far.
According to the company officials, the stretch couldn’t meet the target date due to unavailability of raw materials, chips, boulders and sand, etc.
However, the residents are of the opinion that the company was taking lame excuse as Baleswar has enough quarries at Nilgiri, Soro and Bagudi, besides a number of riverbeds, to cater to the road construction requirements.
They further stated that another company assigned the expansion work between Ranital and Chandikhol, a stretch of 74 km, in the same period in 2019, has completed around 95 per cent of the project. Yet the project in Baleswar has been moving at a snail’s pace due to apathy of the construction company.