TURA, August20: Commuters on the Tura-Dalu under-construction National Highway (NH-51) on Friday had to wait for sometime before continuing on their journey after local residents stopped vehicles in an attempt to show their resentment over the pitiable condition of the yet to be paved road.
The construction of the 44 kilometre stretch of highway from Tura to Dalu which began in 2018 has been pending completion and condition of the unpaved road has been made pitiable due to the current monsoon season resulting in public anger towards the authorities. The situation escalated after Gambegre MLA Saleng Sangma, who was also present at the site was unable to get a satisfactory reply to his queries from those overseeing the construction.
West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh, who rushed to the spot after being called by the MLA, informed that traffic was held up for about 15-20 minutes before the matter was finally cleared up.
“There were some issues raised by the MLA and he was unable to get a satisfactory reply from the engineer he questioned at the site. It was just a minor thing and the misunderstanding was soon cleared up and normal traffic resumed,” Ram Singh said.
According to Ram Singh, the problems being faced at the under construction road is mostly due to the ongoing rainy season which makes the unpaved road muddy and difficult for vehicles to manoeuvre. He said that the NHIDCL was not at fault and was trying to complete the construction as per schedule.
“We have set up a foolproof mechanism to ensure that work continues on the road. We have also created WhatApp groups so that any problem or information can be communicated to the concerned officials in charge of the different works,” he said.
It may be mentioned that while the construction of the road project began in 2018, due to various hurdles including land acquisition issues, major works on the project could begin in full swing only by the end of 2019. Despite the hurdles, the company in charge of the construction had earlier expressed hope to complete the construction by March 2022.