NHAI ‘doing it all’ to maintain NH 44

SHILLONG: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has said that several steps have been taken to repair the accident-prone NH 44.
Replying to a petition filed by Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), state president, Jamil Ahmed, NHAI General Manager (T) cum project manager, Lt Col Rajeev Malhotra said that the Jowai to Ratacherra stretch of NH 44 has been under the NHAI since December 2013 while the road from Malidor to Silchar is with the Assam PWD.
Malhotra informed that the Jowai to Ratacherra stretch was in a dilapidated state and required massive maintenance work after it was taken over from the PWD (Roads), Jowai Division.
“After NHAI took over the road, two major estimates for severely damaged stretches were sanctioned in the year 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively. While one major estimate was completed by PWD, Jowai Central Division in April 2015 as deposit work, the balance work is now being undertaken by GR Infra Projects Ltd,” he said.
The current project includes work for two-lane with paved shoulders.
He also informed that all safety precautions in terms of placing of signboards and cautionary boards along with delineators, fluorescent markers, crash barriers and solar blinkers have been placed in the accident prone areas.
The NH 44 has seen numerous accidents in the past leading to several protests over the poor maintenance of the road which is lifeline to at least two or more Northeastern states.
The LJP had sought the intervention of Prime Minster Narendra Modi into the dilapidated condition of the road after a bus accident led to death of more than 27 people recently.
In a statement issued on Saturday, LJP, Meghalaya, general secretary, Dinesh Kumar Gupta said that the Prime Minister’s Office acted swiftly on the matter and gave directions to the NHAI and the Assam and Meghalaya governments over the poor road condition in the Assam-Meghalaya border.