Paradip: As many as eight lives have been lost in a month due to frequent road mishaps on the Atharbanki-Dochhaki road in this port town of Jagatsinghpur district as iron pellets are strewn all over the road turning it into a death trap.
Frequent road mishaps have proved life-threatening for the commuters travelling on the route. Scores of commuters have also been injured critically in these accidents. Almost all the accidents have occurred in case of bike riders and cyclists travelling on the road. Many bikers have laid blame on the iron pellets strewn on the road for the spurt in mishaps on the route. The pellets fall off the trucks which transport them without any cover on their carriage.
Whenever two-wheelers and other vehicles run over them their wheels slip leading to mishaps, Ramakant Nayak, a local, alleged. “I was going to attend some work at Kujang from Paradip when my bike ran over some pellets and slipped leading to an accident,” he said. Fortunately, he had a close shave as the driver of a 14-wheeler truck plying behind applied sudden brakes after spotting him falling down on the road.
Iron pellets can be found strewn all over the 4.5-km stretch of road from Atharbanki to Dochhaki. The pellets turn even more dangerous for the two-wheeler riders when it rains in the area, he said. The pellets are manufactured from iron ores in the plants which are then transported inside the Paradip port in trucks.
Some of the pellets spill from the trucks’ carriages during transportation. People living in villages along the road have been at the receiving end of the danger the pellets pose to commuters’ lives.
Locals Sushant Giri, Suryamani Nayak, Pradyumna Mohanta and Narahari Patra said the pellets have proved to be more dangerous than wild animals. “While travelling on vehicles, nobody can guarantee that accidents will not happen,” they said.
Samir Das, a local resident, said that the blacktopping on the highway has peeled off in most of the places and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is repairing the road. However, the NHAI is not clearing the pellets strewn on the road which is causing accidents, alleged Siba Biswal, secretary of Paribesha Suraksha Trust.
He has lodged written complaints with the district administration and the NHAI authorities, but his pleas are yet to be addressed. “Those driving on the road are risking their lives,” he added.
Various outfits including the Bijayachandrapur Residential Committee and Balijhara Slum Committee have also filed written complaints before the concerned authorities. The district administration has also held several review meetings but no remedial step has been taken so far.
People here said that six to seven tonne of pellets were lying on the road due to the carelessness of transporters and inaction of the administration. “Whenever pellets fall off trucks on the road, they spell instant disaster for bikers and four-wheelers. Transporters do nothing to safely transport iron pellets,” locals rued. They also pointed out that there are places on the road where huge amounts of pellets have been dumped, and nothing has been done to remove them. When trucks or two-wheelers run over the pellets, the latter also spring out from under the wheels and hit people akin to bullets, locals added.
They said the administration and the company management have no control over the transporters who endanger people’s lives. They suggested that transport contractors and the company authorities should be asked to take precautionary measures to prevent pellets from falling off trucks.
When contacted, MLA Sambit Rout said that a meeting under the chairmanship of the district Collector has decided for construction of a roundabout, proper traffic control and regular cleaning of the road.
The IFFCO has also assured to lend its support for construction of a world class roundabout but its implementation is getting delayed due to lack of cooperation by the NHAI authorities, he added.
PNN