Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has directed authorities to undertake immediate repair and restoration of roads, bridges and government buildings damaged by continuous rainfall and flooding across the state, with the Works Department launching a war-footing effort to restore normal traffic movement in affected areas.
Works Minister Prithviraj Harichandan reviewed the flood situation with Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh and other senior officials, stressing the need for prompt restoration of infrastructure affected by the prevailing weather conditions. He instructed officials to ensure that roads under the Works Department, including national highways, are made traffic-worthy at the earliest while damaged government buildings are also repaired without delay.
Following the review, the Works Department issued directions to the Odisha Bridge and Construction Corporation Limited (OBCC), the Engineer-in-Chief (Civil-cum-Roads), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), regional offices of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), and all Chief Engineers responsible for roads, bridges and national highways to immediately begin restoration work.
The department has asked all executing agencies to accord top priority to repairing damaged stretches and restoring connectivity in flood-affected areas to minimise disruption to public movement.
Describing the situation as “extremely urgent”, the department has also instructed field-level officers and engineers to maintain continuous surveillance over vulnerable locations, take immediate corrective measures wherever required, and ensure the safe movement of commuters until normalcy is fully restored.
