Keonjhar: Keonjhar collector Ashish Thakare Saturday issued notice to chief general manager of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and its regional office asking them to undertake repair work of dilapidated NH-215 and 49 on war footing.
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In his letter, Thakare also warned NHAI authorities of legal action, if the repair work is not taken up immediately.
“Despite informing the NHAI authorities about the poor state of the roads several times, no action has been taken yet. Henceforth, the NHAI authorities will be held responsible, if accidents take place along the roads in the days ahead. Legal action will be taken against them,” the letter written by the district collector read.
“More than 95 per cent of the accidents take place on the national highways because of their deplorable road conditions. We have urged the NHAI authorities to finish the repair work in time. We hope that after receiving this letter, the authorities will take necessary steps forward,” Thakare said.
Notably, the national highways in this district are in poor shape with waterlogging being a common scene during rains. The poor state of these roads has been posing serious threats to local commuters leading to accidents and causalities.
“The national highways here are in a precarious condition. Many drivers have lost their lives in severe accidents. We have staged protests several times, but in vain,” a local truck driver alleged.
“It is very tough to drive on these roads, which are almost nonexistent. The roads require immediate repair,” another driver said.
PNN
