Guwahati: New road repairing system jeopardizing commuters at Odalbakra

GUWAHATI: A new system of repairing the main road at Odalbakra in the city is giving residents of the area a harrowing time.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has been carrying out repair work of Kahilipara Road for about 3 months now. The road had been lined with tar before it was pitched and metalled to its final shape. Everything was well and good till then. However, the PWD left a few sections of the road simply with the lining for up to 20-25 days before pitching to its final shape. 

Haphazard repairing of the road is also brewing trouble for the commuters who use the road on a daily basis. People who commute by two-wheelers are the worst sufferers. According to the shopkeepers and residents, the lining of tar has led to many fatal accidents of two-wheelers that fail to maintain balance while traversing on those parts of the road.

“I have never seen this system before. The PWD has kind of lined the road with tar before metalling it to its final shape. After lining up the road they have left it unattended for about 25 days. This kind of lining has turned out to be very dangerous for commuters. As many as 3-4 two-wheelers meet with accidents by losing their balance during the day,” a resident said.

“We are thankful to the PWD for carrying out repair work of the road. But this kind of repair is not at all acceptable. They have lined the road and left it unattended for about 25 days. 

Commuting on the lined parts of the road has become extremely risky. I fell 2 times last week near Hayat Hospital,” Banikya Chowdhury, a resident of Odalbakra said.

This reporter himself is a victim of the haphazard repairing of the Kahilipara Road. He met with an accident near the power plant while he was traversing from the Odalbakra to Ganesh Mandir. Unable to maintain balance while trying to overtake a tempo the two-wheeler skidded leaving him battered and bruised. 

“They repaired the Kahilipara Road section by section. Without repairing a section properly they tend to move to another section. They dug a section, lined it with tar and without pitching started digging another part. They don’t repair it at one go. Almost the whole road has been repaired to its final stage but the Odalbakra section of the road has been left unattended for about 25 days. We feel like PWD has abandoned the Odalbakra part, as mostly people belonging to the Bengali community reside here,” Debobrata Paul, a resident of Odalbakra said. 

“The situation turns further grim at night time. I was going to Jyoti Chitrabon via Odalbakra. I was not aware of the road repair being carried out. When I tried to overtake a four-wheeler in front of the Hayat Hospital I went off balance. My two-wheeler literally went off track and I skidded with my two-wheeler into the drain. I suffered injuries on my hands and legs. I should thank God that I was not hospitalized,” a biker that met with an accident 2 days ago said.