Delay in road works irks Kalahandi-Balangiri-Koraput chief

KORAPUT: Newly-appointed chief administrator of Kalahandi-Balangiri-Koraput (KBK) district Tara Dutt expressed displeasure over road communication network in Koraput district, while reviewing development projects here on Monday.
Pointing out the inordinate delay in completion of 18-km road stretch between Kakrigumma and Laxmipur, he said, "Commuters have a harrowing time crossing some patches where road is non-existent." The Rs 36-crore project is part of Ranchi-Vijayawada corridor and has missed its February 2012 deadline.
Sources said the public works department (PWD) has failed to take up two separate stretches of 2.5 km and 1 km as these fall in protected forest area and need approval of the forest department. "Officials of forest department and PWD need to coordinate among themselves and ensure that the work is completed at the earliest," Dutt said.
The chief administrator singled out the 5-km Jeypore-Kota junction road work moving at a snail's pace. "Why Rs 30 lakh deposited with the contractor has not been utilized so far?" he questioned, urging the officials concerned to initiate necessary action. He also expressed dissatisfaction over delay in completion of a bridge at Kumuli in Borigumma block. It was scheduled to be completed in February, this year.
The KBK chief administrator reviewed several projects in Malkangiri district on Tuesday.