Tarabha: The long-awaited ring road is a major project that can save people from the flood fury in Tarabha town of Subarnapur district. But it has been stuck due to land hurdles, a report said.
Every year floodwater from Nibriti rivulet plays havoc with the town. The Water Resources department has started work of the right road on the right side of the rivulet, but land acquisition has been a bottleneck.
Though the administration and local political leaders had held talks with locals to sort out the issue in the past, there has been no breakthrough till date.
Whenever monsoon arrives, the people of this town lose their sleep.
The present and erstwhile Finance minister Niranjan Pujari took the initiative and the work on the ring road project began in 2011. In between, the work was paused for three years because the government stopped funding the project.
In 2018, the government decided to carry forward the ring road project along with a protective dyke so as to facilitate communication and check floodwater from entering the town. Finance minister Niranjan Pujari had laid the foundation stone of the project October 9, 2018. The Water Resource department also started the work of the 1118-metre-long ring road project. But the work got stalled near Nibruti Jora as a land owner has been unwilling to spare his land which is required for a 70-metre-stretch of the project.
The work has been completed to the block office.
The incomplete ring road suffered damage due to floodwaters in August last year.
Crores of rupees have been spent, but the people fail to get the benefits.
Some locals have blamed the administration for their failure to resolve the land issue.
They also pointed out that two years have passed since its work was started; the authorities and the contractor have not put up any information plaque about its cost and other details.
They have expressed doubt over the project and demanded that expeditious steps be taken for completion of the ring road project.
PNN