For over two lakh commuters, who have been suffering backbreaking rides on the 23km-stretch of road between Bank More and Birsa Bridge for over two years now, the news that the authorities will begin repairs next week is likely to be greeted with cautious optimism.

Executive engineer of national highway division Amrendra Saha said, “We have completed the tender process for the ordinary repair of a part of the road from Bank More to Birsa Bridge for which work is likely to begin next week. Besides filling up all potholes, we will also repair the damaged railings of the bridge.”

Saha explained that an underlying water supply pipeline, belonging to civic body JMADA, was the primary reason behind the damage of the road. Water leaking from the pipeline damaged the road surface.

“We expect JMADA to shift the pipeline ahead of a comprehensive repair project worth Rs 80 crore to be undertaken for the 50km stretch of the Dhanbad-Jharia Road from Bank More to the Purulia border. The work order has been issued, but work will begin only in four to five months," he said.

Niranjan Prasad, councillor of Bastacola in Jharia, expressed satisfaction that the road would finally be repaired. “The state of the road near Bastacola is dreadful. It gets worse during monsoon, leading to repeated traffic jams. Hopefully, now people will see some relief ahead of Durga Purja,” he said.

The 23km-stretch between Bank More in Dhanbad to Birsa Bridge is in terrible shape with potholes and craters dotting the road at various places, including Bastacola, Ena Islampur, besides Jharia and Sudamdih.

A comprehensive project, worth Rs 44.83 crore, to widen the road was implemented by the state road construction department in 2015-16 using contractor M/s Balkrishna Bhalotia. But the road, which was later handed over to the national highway division in 2018, developed potholes at various places.