ATHAGARH:Widening of Khuntuni-Narasinghpur road in Cuttack district has been moving at snail’s pace.Work on the road widening project had started in 2012 at a cost of `139 crore and an Ahmedabad based firm, Sadvavana Group - was entrusted with the work. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the project at Narasinghpur and the firm started work in 2014. However, it soon quit the project following allegations that money of gangster siblings Sushant and Sushil Dhalasamanta was being used in the project.
Subsequently, State Government assigned the work to Odisha-based firm RKD in 2015 with a target to finish it before March 31, 2016. The CESU was assigned to shift the electric polls from the roadside, Odisha Forest Development Corporation Ltd to cut trees and PHD to shift pipelines. All four tehsildars of Athagarh, Tigiria, Badamba and Narsinghpur and R&B SDOs were assigned eviction work to assist the contractor in finishing the project. Even as two years have passed, the work is far from over. RKD officers said they were trying to finish the work as early as possible.
