All’s Not Well With Four-Lane National Highway Work

GUWAHATI: Journey on the four-lane National Highway from Nagaon bypass to Dibrugarh via Kaliabor Tiniali, Dolabari, Gohpur and Numaligarh gives one a harrowing experience. Craters that dapple the road at many of its stretches make journey on the road tiresome.

In was in such a backdrop on Saturday last, on his way to upper Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had to alight at Teok in Jorhat district and inspect the ongoing works of the national highway. He was on record asking the NHIDCL (National Highway and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited) to speed up its work so as to make the road traveler-friendly.

All’s not well with the construction work of the national highway in most of its stretches. The Nagaon bypass to the Gohpur stretch via Kaliabor Tiniali and Dolabari has been divided into six packages for smooth sailing of the construction works. Barring two packages, the progress of work of the other four packages is very slow, as on February 28, 2019.

Go figure! The physical progress of work of the 18.4-km Nagaon Bypass-Rangagara package with an estimated cost of Rs 159.2 crore is 16.25 per cent. Likewise, the progress of work of the 18.315-km Rangagara-Kaliabor Tiniali package with an estimated cost of 196.24 crore is just 4.027 per cent. The progress of the 18.81-km Dolabari-Jamuguri package with an estimated cost of Rs 744.1 crore is 10.14 per cent. Progress of the 26-km Jamuguri-Biswanath Chariali package with an estimated cost of Rs 303 crore is 18.25 per cent.

The progress of the remaining two packages is not that bad. As on February 28, 2019, 51.07 per cent works of the 17.3-km package from Kaliabor Tiniali-Dolabari with an estimated cost of Rs 588.95 crore has been over. This stretch also has a bridge over the Brahmaputra.

With the completion of 39.608 per cent works in the 57.5-km Biswanath Chariali-Gohpur package with an estimated cost of Rs 829 crore, the progress does not seem to be too slow.

The overall progress of works of the highway, however, is not satisfactory. To speed up the work, the NHIDCL, a fully-owned company of the Union Ministry of Road Infrastructure and Highways, needs to put pressure on the construction companies carrying out the work. But then, the fate of the highway largely depends on the new government that will come to power at the Centre after May 23, 2019. The State government does not have much to do other than putting some pressure. Will the would-be dispensation at the Centre be agile enough? The onus of making the national highway smooth for vehicular traffic lies with the NHIDCL.

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