February 19th 2025.
Residents of a block in the Bolangir district known as Saintala are facing numerous challenges due to a significant delay in the construction of a bridge over the Lanth river. This bridge is meant to serve as a crucial link between two gram panchayats, Deng GP and Kamarlaga GP, located in the Saintala block. The Works department had taken up this construction project two years ago, but the contractor in charge has been causing delays for reasons unknown. To make matters worse, there is no alternate route available for the residents to use, forcing them to take long and dangerous detours that add an extra 12 kilometers to their daily commute.
The Saintala block is home to several important government offices, schools, colleges, and other institutions. As a result, many people from neighboring areas such as Kuikeda panchayat's Kamarlaga and Rengali, Gabhandapatrapali panchayat's Bhatasar and Gandapatrapali, and Dharabagad panchayat's Jamkhunta regularly visit the block headquarters for official work. Additionally, the residents of Saintala, Deng, Karamatala, and Kumbhari GPs rely on this route to reach Titilagarh.
During the winter season, the block administration had constructed a temporary road over the Lanth river to help the residents of these panchayats avoid the long detours. However, when the bridge construction began, the contractor failed to follow the standard protocol of creating a temporary access route. Despite repeated pleas from the villagers of Deng and Kamarlaga GPs, the contractor has not taken any action, claiming that the government has not provided any guidelines for such a road. Furthermore, attempts to communicate with the workers managing the construction have been futile, as they are rarely present at the site to address the issue. There are also concerns about the quality of materials being used in the construction, with reports of rusting rods and inadequate use of sand and gravel.
Despite numerous attempts, the local administration has not been able to reach the SDO of the Works Department, Dileswar Majhi. The residents have now requested the authorities to ensure the presence of the contractor and engineers at the site for proper execution of the work and to construct a temporary road for their convenience. The delay in the construction of this bridge is causing great inconvenience to the people of Saintala, and it is their hope that the issue will be resolved soon.
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