Ganjam road project hits land-acquisition bump

BERHAMPUR: Only 10 per cent work has been done for the proposed 41-km-long Berhampur-Taptapani road which was due to be completed in November 2010. Sources said delay in land acquisition had resulted in this hold-up in the World Bank funded project that began three years ago. Irked over the inordinate delay, revenue minister S N Patro on Wednesday directed officials to expedite land acquisition process and complete the work as soon as possible. He also directed all concerned departments like public health, telephone departments and Southco, the power distribution company to shift their pipelines, electric and telephone poles to ensure quick completion of the project. If that happens, the project would be completed in October 2012, the project engineers said. Land acquisition was now complete in 28 out of 31 villages for the project, road engineers said at the high-level meeting attended by revenue divisional commissioner (southern division) L N Nayak, chief engineer of the project N K Pradhan and other officials. Taptapani is famous for a hot-spring that attracts large number of tourists every year. Padmanavpur, a weavers' village which is being developed as a rural tourist destination is also located on the Berhampur-Taptapani road. 

Source: Times of India