Sambalpur: Alleging delay in completion of expansion and lack of repair of National Highway 55, the residents of Rairakhol in Sambalpur district on Tuesday blocked the highway, crippling traffic on the road that connects Sambalpur with Cuttack.
The residents under the aegis of Nagarik Committee, Rairakhol, took to the streets at 6 am on Tuesday and blocked traffic for around 5 hours.
Chairman of Rairakhol block, Pradip Pradhan, said the condition of National Highway 55 from Rairakhol to Sambalpur is pathetic. While the highway is being widened, the existing road is full of potholes and craters. Accidents have become a regular phenomenon on the highway, resulting in loss of valuable lives, he said.
Pradhan said, “We have voiced our concern with the National Highways Authorities of India (NHAI) officials several times regarding the condition of the highway. But all our pleas went unheeded. So we had no option but to block the highway, he said.
The protest was called off around 11 am after the officials from the NHAI, including project director K. Nageswar Rao requested them to do so.
The officials assured them that the 6km stretch of the highway that passes through Rairtakhol will be completed by October 31 and the entire road from Sambalpur to Rairakhol will also be completed at the earliest.
The residents under the aegis of Nagarik Committee, Rairakhol, took to the streets at 6 am on Tuesday and blocked traffic for around 5 hours.
Chairman of Rairakhol block, Pradip Pradhan, said the condition of National Highway 55 from Rairakhol to Sambalpur is pathetic. While the highway is being widened, the existing road is full of potholes and craters. Accidents have become a regular phenomenon on the highway, resulting in loss of valuable lives, he said.
Pradhan said, “We have voiced our concern with the National Highways Authorities of India (NHAI) officials several times regarding the condition of the highway. But all our pleas went unheeded. So we had no option but to block the highway, he said.
The protest was called off around 11 am after the officials from the NHAI, including project director K. Nageswar Rao requested them to do so.
The officials assured them that the 6km stretch of the highway that passes through Rairtakhol will be completed by October 31 and the entire road from Sambalpur to Rairakhol will also be completed at the earliest.
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