Bhubaneswar, Oct. 7 -- Barely two months after President Droupadi Murmu attended the convocation ceremony at AIIMS Bhubaneswar on July 14, the road leading to the premier hospital has once again turned into an eyesore. What was cleaned and beautified on a war footing ahead of the high-profile visit now resembles a temporary dumping yard, causing inconvenience to thousands of patients and their attendants arriving from across Odisha and other states.

The 1.5-km stretch connecting National Highway-16 to AIIMS, particularly the portion near the Biju Patnaik State Police Academy, is now littered with heaps of garbage. The waste is scattered along both sides of the road, and stray cattle are seen pulling it onto the road, making commuting unp...