Pathetic condition of National Highway 15 in Darrang

Our Correspondent

MANGALDAI: Do the citizens have a fundamental right to have good roads? Is it the statutory obligation of the State government to provide roads which are free of potholes? But for the Public Works Department (PWD) in Assam, citizens have no such rights !!

A division bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice CV Bhadang of Bombay High Court on May 20, 2015 while passing a detailed order in connection with a PIL that highlighted the poor condition of roads in Maharashtra and the incidents of motorists losing their lives due to pothole-ridden roads, had made an observation that citizens have a fundamental right to have good roads and providing roads free of potholes is the statutory obligation of the State government. The order also said, “It is high time that all concerned clearly understand that the right to have properly maintained roads is a part of fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution of India”.

In another judgment, a division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla of Bombay High Court again on April 12, 2018 ruled that citizens have a fundamental right to enjoy good roads and footpaths and all steps should be taken to see that the citizens are not deprived of their rights. A bench of Chief Justice TB Radhakrishnan and Justice A Rajasheker of Telengana High Court while hearing a public interest plea on January 29, 2019 also observed that good roads were essential for citizens paying taxes who are also entitled to have a clean and motorable road.

But quite in an opposite scenario in Darrang district in particular and the entire state as a whole, violation of this fundamental right of the citizens at the behest of the officials of Public Works Department (Roads) with the unholy nexus of a certain highly powerful contractor has almost become the order of the day. All section of the society in Darrang district including the commuters, vehicle owners have been facing tremendous difficulties while moving on the highly deplorable stretch of NH 15 with crater-sized potholes.

Significantly the entire stretch of NH 15 starting from Baihata Chariali in Kamrup (rural) district is the only road connectivity to the strategic location of Tawang, Silapathar, Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh bordering with China. The snail pace of progress of the ongoing strengthening and widening works of NH 15 covering a total road length of around seventeen kilometre in different locations has transformed the NH 15 from bad to worse with the onset of the rainy season as the sizes of the patches and potholes which had been left unrepaired have grown bigger.

The crater-sized potholes all along the stretch within the Mangaldai town particularly in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office and bungalow, circuit house, Mangaldai Circle office, Mangaldai Municipal Board have made it almost impossible for any movement on two-wheelers and light motor vehicles not to speak of the poor plight of the bicyclists. Significantly, all the public representatives even the district administration could not spare their time to interfere in the slow pace of works. The highly deplorable condition of NH 15- the ‘life line’ of the north bank of river Brahmaputra is the glaring example of the indifferent attitude of the government or the administration which also compel the people to think about the non-existence of the administration here.

Three highly influential contractors have been entrusted with the widening and strengthening of 16.87 km stretch of NH 15 against a total tender value of Rs. 67 crores. But these contractors enjoying the blessings from the concerned circles have allegedly been paying no attention to the instructions of the PWD officials.

The Permanent Loka Adalat of Mangaldai, meanwhile on the basis of petition filed in this regard by a group of five lawyers of the Mangaldai court led by senior lawyer Jayanta Deka has registered a case (No.PLA (D) 3/18).

Also read: Assam news