Probe sought into poor PMGSY roads

JAGATSINGHPUR: Villagers of Dhinkia panchayat in the coastal district on Wednesday sought a probe into poor road work under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and urged the district administration to repair the damaged roads on a war-footing.

Sources said the roads in the block are in a sorry state due to sub-standard work and poor maintenance. The 5-km stretch from Borikina to Sumuda, 27 km Kandarpur- Jagatsinghpur road and 5-km stretch from Nuagaon to Dhinkia, have been filled with potholes after a few months of its completion.

As per reports, work order was awarded to one Sasmal Construction agency for 5 km road from Borikina to Sumuda in Balikuda block at an estimated cost of `3.84 crore in March 2013. The district adminstration had targeted to complete the work by December 2013, but its first phase work on 3 km stretch was completed in 2015 and rest two km finished in 2016.

Youth leader of Dhinkia Ranjan Burdhan alleged that most of the newly constructed PMGSY roads in the panchayat have developed cracks and commuters are facing great difficulties.Similarly, Junior Engineer and Executive Engineer’s continuous absence from the office has affected the supervision work, he added and demanded a Vigilance probe into the irregularities.

Executive Engineer of Rural Development Department Manoranjan Pattnaik said the PMGSY road from Nuagaon to Dhinkia is still under construction and it is yet to be handed over to the department.