Cuttack: Barely 15 days after its restoration following underground sewerage work, a portion of Khapuria-Nua Bazaar road under Ward 50 of Cuttack caved in on Thursday, with residents alleging substandard construction and poor quality control. They, along with the local corporator, have demanded accountability and an independent probe into the execution of the project.The key arterial road linking several industrial units, educational institutions, and hospitals was excavated to lay underground sewerage pipelines as part of a Watco Sewerage Division project. After the pipeline work was completed, the road was constructed and reopened to traffic. However, the surface collapsed within two weeks, leaving a large crater and posing a serious risk to commuters.Ward 50 corporator Santosh Bhola demanded accountability for the incident. “An impartial inquiry must be conducted. Strict action should be taken against those responsible, and the road must be reconstructed by ensuring proper quality standards,” he said.Watco Sewerage Division general manager Jitendra Gochhi said it was constructed just before Ratha Yatra to ensure smooth traffic flow. “A team was sent to the spot for inspection. We will also examine the cause of the failure and ensure that the quality of restoration work is maintained,” he said.He added the work has already been started. The road will be motorable soon, said Gochhi.Residents alleged that the road gave way due to poor compaction of soil, highlighting glaring lapses in supervision and quality assurance by the executing agency. Sumanta Sahoo, a resident of Khapuria, said this is a glaring example of official negligence and poor-quality construction. “The road has collapsed within just 15 days of completion, proving that public money has been wasted. The authorities must stop protecting contractors, fix responsibility and ensure such substandard work is never repeated,” said Sahoo.Residents also insisted that merely repairing the damaged patch would not suffice and urged the govt to conduct a technical audit of the entire project to prevent similar failures.Hundreds of people, including patients, and heavy vehicles use the road daily. The collapse could have led to a serious mishap had it occurred during peak traffic hours.“The road caved in during early morning. Had this happened in broad daylight, somebody could have fallen into the crater. The authorities are playing with people’s lives,” said Suresh Pradhan, a commuter.
