Bhubaneswar: Road connectivity has been restored on 10 of the 12 stretches damaged by Cyclone Arnab and the subsequent floods in Odisha. The Works Department has set a 48-hour deadline to complete repairs on the remaining two stretches, officials said on Monday.
The restoration progress came up for review at a meeting chaired by Law, Works and Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan at Lok Seva Bhawan. The meeting assessed the extent of damage to road infrastructure and the work undertaken by departmental divisions across the affected districts.
The damaged stretches fall on National Highways 59, 157 and 326. Restoration work was carried out by teams from the NH Division and divisions covering Kandhamal, Paralakhemundi, Ganjam, Gajapati, Phulbani, Bhanjanagar, Koraput, Malkangiri and Jeypore.
With immediate repair work nearing completion, Harichandan stressed the need to focus on long-term measures to protect road infrastructure from climate-induced disasters. He called for stronger and more resilient roads, particularly in areas vulnerable to flash floods and landslides.
He also emphasised the construction of protection walls in landslide-prone locations, improved drainage systems and permanent safety measures to minimise damage during extreme weather events.
Principal Secretary, Works Department, Sanjay Kumar Singh appreciated the efforts of engineers, departmental officials and field teams in carrying out restoration work and reconnecting affected areas.
The department has also decided to document the post-cyclone restoration work through videos and a booklet. The exercise is intended to help improve future disaster response, infrastructure planning and preparedness.
Special Secretary, Works Department and Engineer-in-Chief Sameer Hota, Engineer-in-Chief (Civil) Satyabrata Behera, OSD L.K. Padhi, Chief Engineer National Highways-1 Narayan Patel, Chief Engineer Bridges-1 Prabhas Kumar Majhi, Chief Engineer Bridges-2 Tapan Kumar Behera and Chief Engineer Buildings-2 Trinath Behera attended the meeting.
Chief Engineer Roads-2 Sivabrata Taria and superintending engineers of various zones participated virtually.
