GUWAHATI, Oct 5: The seven-km stretch from Khanapara to Jorabat of the four-lane national highway is far from completion. The scheduled target of the stretch that had been started way back in 2005 was June 2009, but now sources in the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) say that the work of the stretch will be completed only by April next year. The go-slow attitude on the part of the two construction companies from mainland India — TCIL and MBL — has led the situation to such a pretty pass at Jorabat that a smart shower of 15 minutes is enough to paralyse the entire traffic systems due to water-logging. Traffic goes haywire at the spot that is the juncture of vehicular traffic to and from Asom, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.
Though it is not the rainy season and the State did not experience the usual monsoon, the two construction companies are not seen to be agile enough to complete the work. Since they have already failed to meet the scheduled target of completion of the stretch of the highway, they should have seriously engaged themselves more to complete the work.
About 90 per cent of land has already been acquired for the Khanapara-Jorabat stretch of the highway. According to the NHAI sources, the flyover at Khanapara will be completed by June 2010, and as of now about 45 per cent of the work is over. Work of the 130-metre flyover at Jorabat has just started. When asked as to why dredging is not done to avoid water-logging at Jorabat, the NHAI sources said it cannot be done due to heavy siltation on the Meghalaya side where earth-cutting is rampant. Recently, the Centre informed Parliament that only 0.10 per cent of work of the flyover at Jorabat is completed. According to NHAI, water-logging and heavy siltation have prevented it to complete the work.
It is more than 12 years since the Jalukbari-Khanapara stretch of the highway was started, but it is yet to be completed. The service roads have not been constructed as yet. The lanes of the main road have also developed cracks. Sources in the NHAI said works of the stretch and its maintenance will be started next month. This apart, from Khanapara to Sonapur, only 16 per cent of the work has been done. THE SENTINEL
Though it is not the rainy season and the State did not experience the usual monsoon, the two construction companies are not seen to be agile enough to complete the work. Since they have already failed to meet the scheduled target of completion of the stretch of the highway, they should have seriously engaged themselves more to complete the work.
About 90 per cent of land has already been acquired for the Khanapara-Jorabat stretch of the highway. According to the NHAI sources, the flyover at Khanapara will be completed by June 2010, and as of now about 45 per cent of the work is over. Work of the 130-metre flyover at Jorabat has just started. When asked as to why dredging is not done to avoid water-logging at Jorabat, the NHAI sources said it cannot be done due to heavy siltation on the Meghalaya side where earth-cutting is rampant. Recently, the Centre informed Parliament that only 0.10 per cent of work of the flyover at Jorabat is completed. According to NHAI, water-logging and heavy siltation have prevented it to complete the work.
It is more than 12 years since the Jalukbari-Khanapara stretch of the highway was started, but it is yet to be completed. The service roads have not been constructed as yet. The lanes of the main road have also developed cracks. Sources in the NHAI said works of the stretch and its maintenance will be started next month. This apart, from Khanapara to Sonapur, only 16 per cent of the work has been done. THE SENTINEL
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