SHILLONG, Nov 17: Days after the dilapidated conditions of national highways cropped up during the recently concluded Assembly session, officials at the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) have now maintained that it is the sole duty of the government to regulate overladen trucks.
It may be mentioned that many legislators, during the Assembly session, had pinned the blame on the overladen trucks for deteriorating the roads.
With many portions along the Umiam-Jorabat Expressway lying neglected, the NHAI has also informed that it has started the repairing of the affected highways.
A top official at the NHAI has said that the repairing work has started and it is likely to be completed by next month.
The concessionaires of the projects have started working on the roads as the condition of the highways has gone from bad to worst in the recent months.
The NHAI has, meanwhile, acquired the land possession for construction of additional tollbooths at Umling along the Umiam-Jorabat Expressway.
It NHAI has said that the three additional tollbooths will be completed by February 2021.
When asked about the long-pending footbridges along the Umiam-Jorabat Highway, the official said the concessionaire of the project could not take up the work due to fund crunch.
It may be mentioned that many stretches of the two of the major national highways in the state — Umiam-Jorabat Expressway and Jowai-Ratacherra — is in a deplorable condition.