Jeypore : Due to lack of coordination among 9 different departments, theRs13 crore road project from Jayanagar to Panchanan Temple—intended to ease traffic congestion in Jaypur town—is stalled halfway. The road was planned to prevent heavy vehicles from entering Jaypur town, and an initiative was taken to construct a bypass road from Indira Chhak to Panchanan Temple. After completing the tender process, a contractor was assigned the work under the jurisdiction of the Jeypore r East Division.
According to the agreement, the road was to be completed within the scheduled period, which has already lapsed by 6 months, yet the project is not even 10% complete.
The total road length was 2 kilometers and 200 meters, and in 2024, the East Division invited tenders for the construction. Vishverse Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. of Jaypur won the tender for ₹13.10 crore at 9.99% below the base cost. Work began on 20th February that year, with a deadline of 19th November 2024. Even after the contract period ended, less than 10% of work is done.
The project involves coordination with the following departments:
Horticulture
Public Health
Electricity
Minor Irrigation
Jaypur Municipality
Fisheries
Rural Water Supply & Sanitation (RWSS)
OTDC (Odisha Tourism Development Corporation)
OPDC (Odisha Plantation Development Corporation)
For example, a Public Health Department pump house, situated on the north side of the proposed road, needs to be removed. Similarly, the canal system from Jagannath Sagar that irrigates farmland has been disrupted and not reconnected.
During the construction, Fisheries Department’s hatchery had to be shifted. Though the new hatchery has been completed, drainage work now needs to pass through that area, causing further obstruction.
Other pending issues include:
Encroachments at Indira Panda Chhak, yet to be cleared
Water discharge conflicts with the Minor Irrigation Department at the Panchanan Temple end
RWSS pipeline laid earlier still not removed, leading to debate on whether to construct the drainage over or under the road
OTDC’s Kalyan Mandap boundary wall yet to be removed
Lack of involvement from OFDC and TPESODL (electricity distributor)
Out of 103 trees marked for removal, only 71 smaller ones have been cut. Large banyan trees remain untouched. Over 50 electricity poles are yet to be removed by TPESODL, and four electrical transformers still sit in the middle of the road alignment.
Due to lack of inter-departmental cooperation, this key bypass road project remains incomplete. The district administration has failed to press the departments, delaying the work further.
Previously, stormwater from Meghmal and Annaguda used to flow into Jagannath Sagar via the planned road corridor. A new plan has now been prepared to channel this water through a drain into Jagannath Sagar. The Executive Engineer of the East Division, Priya Rangan Behera, has stated that changes in the road layout plan have also contributed to the delay in project progress.