Potholed road turns motorists’ nightmare between Pattamundai and Rajnagar

KENDRAPARA: The 24-km long road from Pattamundai to Rajnagar has become a motorists’ nightmare. 
The important road that links over 50 villages with a population of around one lakh to the two towns is riddled with potholes making commuting on it a dangerous proposition for the people. Accidents on the stretch are a common occurrance, yet, the district administration has turned a blind eye to the misery of the people.

In fact the road was repaired at a cost of Rs 14 crore last year. But the quality of work was such that it got damaged due to rains, said Narayan Das of Srirampur village. Pradyumna Samantray of Pattamundai said the locals have been seeking action against officials for carrying out sub-standard repair work but in vain. 
Buses stopped plying on the stretch last year as their owners did not want the vehicles to get damaged. This has affected the locals who have limited means of travelling between the two towns now. 

Parikhita Behera, a bus driver said the owners are contemplating plying their vehicles on another route. A large number of tourists use the road to reach Bhitarkanika National Park. However, they face problems on the damaged road, said Maheswar Das, a tour operator from Rajnagar. 

Assistant engineer of PWD Prakash Kumar Dash said the road will be repaired once again by PWD after funds are sanctioned for the purpose by the World Bank. We have decided to include the repair of the road in the list of projects that need funding from World Bank,” he said.