ROURKELA: Even as public suffers due to the deplorable condition of a stretch of NH-215 passing through mineral-rich Koida block in Sundargarh district, no immediate relief seems in sight.The harassed locals of Koida block and industries in Sundargarh district have to wait till end of the monsoon after which, some temporary repair works will be taken up.Sundargarh Collector Rupa Roshan Sahu on Monday issued a reminder to police and other authorities concerned to restrict movement of mineral-laden vehicles for one month. She also ordered speeding up the necessary repair works to mitigate the problem.The industries have reacted sharply to the decision. The Orissa Sponge Iron Manufacturers’ Association (OSIMA) vice-president Subrata Patnaik said that would affect production in the absence of raw materials. He said the stretch is a key link for transportation of iron ore from Koida and Barbil mining sectors to industries in Sundargarh district.Sources said the National Highway Division (NHD) had handed over the highly damaged NH stretch of 40 km from Rajamunda to Kalta, of which 12 km is non-motorable, to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in April. A delay of two months in taking up the repair work aggravated the situation.Keonjhar-based NHAI project director Chandrakant Ganedwala said plans were on the anvil to four-lane 86-km stretch from Rimuli and two-lane the remaining 10 km till Rajamunda. The works are likely to be completed in two years. On the damaged road stretch, he said temporary repair works would be taken after the monsoon.Owing to the situation, private bus operators have stopped plying buses through Koida, inconveniencing the poor tribal villagers.
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