Two diversion roads, to be built for the convenience of commuters on the under-construction stretch, have failed to meet the deadline set by new Ranchi Parliamentarian Sanjay Seth.

Seth, while inspecting the ongoing flyover construction site at Kantatoli, had ordered the implementing agency Juidco to complete constructing the diversion roads by June 15 to ensure that commuters did not face trouble, especially during monsoon. Seth had advised the Juidco team to set small deadlines for each part of the project to reach the bigger goal.

When The Telegraph visited the construction site on Thursday afternoon, it was evident that Seth’s directive, given in public interest, was not taken seriously.

Right now, about 75 per cent of the diversion road coming from the Kokar side to Kantatoli Chowk has been constructed. No work has been done to build the diversion from Bahu Bazar. Two earthmovers and road construction materials were on the site but no labourers.

A locality resident, Akhlaq Khan, who runs a shop selling bags, said the pace of the construction meant commuters would suffer in the rainy season.

Ramesh Singh, who runs a betel shop in Kokar echoed Khan. “A proper diversion route is a must. As things are, I can only foresee months of trouble.” Deputy project manager of the implementing agency Pratyush Kumar admitted to the delay but at the same time said efforts were on to speed up the work.

“The diversion roads will be completely built as soon as we finish shifting pipelines. As monsoon has set in, it is difficult to give a deadline, but we will take every care to ensure commuters don’t suffer,” Kumar said.

On the diversions, he said: “Two roads parallel to and on both the sides of the flyover will be built on the ground. The width of each road will be 4.5 feet (1.37 metre) and their total length will be 1,250 metre. The length of 850 metres will built from Shantinagar to Kantatoli while another stretch of 450 metres will be constructed from YMCA to Kanta Toli.”

A worker explained it simply. “A 1,250-metre-long flyover that is 16.5 feet (5.02 metre) wide will be in the sky. The blacktop roads on the ground will run on the road. These roads will be all-weather and sturdy.”

With a two-year official deadline from April 2017, Ranchi’s first flyover spanning Kanta Toli’s busiest stretch — YMCA to Shantinagar in Kokar on Old HB Road — was supposed to be ready in April this year. But so far, only 15 per cent of work has been completed.