Ampati, Sep 28: If you have recently been through the Dalu – Garobadha road, the stark change to just about 2 years ago is the first thing you notice. Gone are the days of a joy ride that was close to 100 kms between the two towns. It has now been replaced by more potholes than you can count while travel on the road has become an absolute nightmare.
The reason – more than 150 overloaded boulder trucks moving through every night for over 3-4 years for export into neighbouring Bangladesh. The export of boulders becomes even starker when you consider that the local roads are in despair due to lack of boulders.
Currently export of boulders using the route has been stopped over the past few months due to protests by locals and various NGOs. This came about after an overloaded boulder truck turned turtle near the village of Nogorpara, while navigating a pond on the road that was created because of these trucks.
The Dalu – Garobadha was renovated during the time of the Congress government led by Mukul Sangma. The work was taken up and completed by BSC, an international infrastructure company. The quality of the work was praised and travel for locals became stress free. The road was opened in the year 2017.
It connects many border towns including Mahendraganj, Purakhasia, Nogorparam Ampati among others. The stretch between Garobadha to Ampati, despite being damaged and partially repaired, is still easily navigable. Once one crosses Ampati, the torture begins. The situation of the road is in such damaging condition that the former MLA of Mahendraganj, Dikkanchi D Shira even raised the matter in an Assembly session.
As per sources, money has been sanctioned for repairs though it is yet to seriously take off. Further the lack of a weigh bridge in the entire stretch prior to Dalu has made control on overloaded trucks nearly impossible.
There are many factors involved in why the once good road has now transformed into a ride into hell.
“The road is a state highway which means it is meant for vehicles with loads less than 12 MT. However the boulder trucks that came with loads in excess of 35-40 MT and caused immense stress on the road itself. Within just a few months, the road began to deteriorate and the situation became bad for locals,” said a highly placed PWD source.
What became clear was the fact that things suddenly became a free for all. While export was taking place even prior to the road being renovated, the loads were much lesser. A nexus apparently developed which saw those supposed to check the excesses turning a blind eye while the exporters continued in their merry ways, apparently with the support of some very powerful individuals from the region.
What became apparent soon enough was the damage the excessively loaded boulder trucks were doing. Travelling not only became difficult, even walking on the same route was fraught with danger, especially during the monsoon. School going children faced a major hurdle in reaching school due to the state of the road and various NGOs raised their concerns over what was happening.
However despite the pressure from various sources, boulder export continued apparently due to political pressure.
“They were taking advantage of the fact that there was no way weights could be checked. They got challans showing 12 MT tons of boulders but carried much more in excess. Despite everyone knowing what was taking place, neither the Forest department nor transport or anyone from the district administration took any action to stop these excesses until the road almost became unusable,” informed social activist BM Marak.
What is interesting is that a weigh bridge has been sanctioned on the road but is yet to be constructed. As has been pointed out by the CAG earlier this week, the lack of weigh bridges has meant a huge loss of revenue to the state while also damaging roads. The same holds true for the Dalu – Garobadha road for which people are bearing the consequences of human greed
While repair on the road is expected to be undertaken very soon, if unchecked boulder trucks are allowed to ply, it would only mean a waste of public money – it will not last.