Angul: 401 road accidents in Odisha’s Angul in year 2023. It seems NH 55 has turned death trap for commuters in this town.
Often described as the lifeline of Angul, NH 55 has now turned into a death trap as at least one person is getting killed in every two days in this town on an average due to road mishap.
The major reason for this loss of lives is unnecessary delay in expansion of the National Highways. Where is the problem? Is there any coordination missing between NHAI and Central Government? Here is a report from ground zero.
National Highway No. 55 that is spread from Cuttack to Sambalpur has become the sorrow of Odisha. Keeping in view the increasing population, urbanisation, increase in vehicle movement and industrialisation, the Central Government had decided to upgrade this road to a four-lane road in 2005. But the work actually started only after 12 years in 2017.
National Highway Authority is carrying out expansion work of the NH to make the Cuttack-Angul-Sambalpur National Highway 55 to make it 4 lane. 5 years have passed since then. But the work is yet to be finished.
Worships are going on for the road condition. People are wishing for the leaders, ministers and departmental officials who have neglected passenger safety and national highway work. The movement by Angul conscious citizen Forum is going on for the last 15 days regarding the highway problem.
The National Highway No. 55 has passed through Angul. Besides, NH 53 passes through Kaniha and Talcher. National Highway 149 connects Banrapal to Pallahada. But due to lack of repair, these Highways have turned into death trap.
Road accident has become a regular affair in Angul. An alarming 401 road accidents took place in 2023. There is no month in the year in which there are not less than 25 accidents. The maximum 41 accidents occurred in March. There have been 38 accidents in July, 36 in December, 35 in November. There were 25 accidents in April, 2023.
As per reports, one person is losing his life in a road accident every two days in Angul. As many as 186 people died in the 401 accidents in Angul while 153 became critical and 90 people sustained injury.
More than 10 people die every month. Maximum 24 people have died in March. In July and December, 20 each people died due to road mishap. As many as 11 persons lost life in January and September, 2023 in Angul.
People from both East and West Odisha depend on this 206 km long NH 55. Coal, aluminium, iron ore are transported in thousands of vehicles every day on this road.
BJD has raised voice in this matter and questioned BJP. 5T and Navin Odisha Chairman Karthik Pandian raised the issue of NH 55 and said that though 10 years have passed, the expansion of this road is yet to be finished.
On the other hand, BJP said that the state government is not cooperating in acquiring land for the Highway. The saffron party also said that directive has been issued to complete the work within 3 months. The said work of Rs. 57 crores includes the construction of bypass and repair of NH 55 between Banrapal to Rantalei.
Meanwhile the deadline for completion of the work has been extended four times. However, the work is yet to be finished.
In 2017, the tender process for upgrading the Sambalpur-Manguli National Highway 55 was floated. NHAI invited tenders for the construction of Sampural-Angul Highway in the first phase and Angul-Cuttack Road in the second phase. Both the projects went to Gaayatri Projects. This organization has taken a contract for Rs. 1,255 crore rupees for the 151 km road between Sambalpur-Angul. But the work could not be completed even though 6 years have passed. The deadline has been extended three times but the work is yet to be finished.
The situation was such that the road work remained stopped for almost 9 months. After public dissatisfaction, on 25 April 2022, NHAI issued notice to Gayatri Projects to start work within 15 days. Later Gayatri Projects left the project.
Angul-Sambalpur road work started in 2017. The Angul-Cuttack road work was started in 2018. The deadline was 2020. Meanwhile, the expenditure for the project has doubled. But the work is still pending.
As per reports, 62 km road expansion work from Dhenkanal to Angul has been completed by about 70 percent. Similarly, the road work from Angul to Sambalpur has been completed 80 percent.
Also, the flyovers to be built on this road have not been constructed till now. The bypass road is also half finished. This bypass alone has 5 overbridges. Two big bridges are being constructed. But since the work is going on at a snail’s pace, there is growing doubt about getting the work done within the deadline. Reports say, the work was delayed due to land acquisition, forest department permission and negligence by the contractors.
National Highway 55 Panchamahala-Banrapala Highway work has started. After getting the work, the new construction company has started working as per the schedule. However, due to frequent vehicle movement on the road, construction has been hampered. Therefore, it is proposed to implement no-entry.
Instructions have been given to the construction company to get the road work done within two months.
Reportedly, a tender was floated last month for the rennovation of NH 55. Rs 58 crore has been sanctioned for road repair and lighting. The work has started after the tender has been issued. Now, the construction work is going on near Kulad. Instruction has been given to work first on those spots where road condition is worst.
Large pot holes are witnessed at many places in between Angul and Banrapal. Special attention has been given to its repair. A proposal has been sent to the District Magistrate to make the road a no-entry zone.
A plan has been made to stop the movement of heavy vehicles for 15 days. The construction company has been directed to immediately repair the black spots on this road.
Report: Manas Mishra, Angul
Ms Kalinga