Odisha Works Minister Orders Swift Repairs of Rain-Damaged Roads

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 1 (UDN): Odisha Works Minister Prithviraj Harichandan has directed officials to undertake immediate repairs of roads damaged by heavy rain, flooding and landslides across the state, stressing that road connectivity and quality must not be compromised.

 Pic Credit: x.com/PWD_Odisha

Harichandan issued the directions while chairing a high-level review meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan on Wednesday, where he assessed the condition of several damaged road stretches and the progress of restoration work.

Among the roads reviewed were the Nakhara-Niali and Adaspur-Jagatsinghpur stretches, Kalinga Ghati road, along with damaged roads in Koraput, Bhadrak, Balasore, Cuttack, Ganjam, Sambalpur, Keonjhar and Paradip.

Engineers Told to Monitor Roads Regularly

The Minister directed engineers at all levels, from the Engineer-in-Chief to Chief Engineers, Superintending Engineers and Junior Engineers, to conduct regular inspections of roads under their respective jurisdictions.

They have also been asked to submit road-condition reports every 15 days and remain present during construction and repair works to ensure adherence to quality standards.

Taking note of photographs and reports of damaged roads being circulated on social media, Harichandan instructed officials to act promptly and complete restoration work without unnecessary delay.

He further directed the department to initiate legal action against contractor agencies found responsible for substandard work.

Focus on Faster Tendering, File Processing

Works Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh called for greater transparency in the tendering process and measures to speed up the award of works.

The meeting also reviewed the functioning of the Works Information Management and Information System (WIMIS), with officials directed to improve its effectiveness and prevent avoidable delays in file processing.

Senior officials, including EIC and Special Secretary Sameer Hota, Engineer-in-Chief (Civil) Satyabrata Behera, Financial Advisor and Special Secretary Ratikanta Mohapatra, Additional Secretaries Deepak Ranjan Das and Pradeep Kumar Sahu, along with Chief Engineers and Superintending Engineers from different zones, participated in the meeting both physically and virtually.