Will four-lane NH-37 project in upper Assam meet the revised schedule?

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The fatal road accident at Dergaon in the Golaghat district has made commuters point their accusing fingers at the four-lane National Highway-37 project in upper Assam. Of course, some people blame it on the dense fog, improper demarcation of road diversion, and negligence of the driver, including over-speeding, for the tragic accident.

The Central Government made repeated assurances about the completion of the four-lane national highway project from Numaligarh to Bogibeel Junction near Lapetkata by June 2024. However, given the progress of the road, meeting this revised target for the project is doubtful. The stretch has missed several completion schedules.

The distance from Numaligarh to Bogibeel Junction is 178 km. NHIDCL has divided this stretch into six packages, including Dergaon town. The NHIDCL terminated the contracts for two of these six packages—one from Jorhat to Jhanji (37.80 km) and the other from the end of Moran Bypass to Bogibeel Junction (19.18 km)—with the contractors in September 2023 due to the slow progress of works. However, NHIDCL has yet to re-award these two packages, and it will delay the completion of the four-lane project.

According to NHIDCL, 96.88 percent of the work on the stretch from Numaligarh to Jorhat (barring Dergaon), 30.45 percent of the Jhanji-Demow stretch, and 11.12 percent of the Demow-End of Moran Bypass stretch of the project have been completed. The physical progress of the 11-km stretch of highway in Dergaon town is 95.26 percent.

The issue of the construction companies not properly issuing road signage boards meant for diversion, etc., during construction has also come up for discussion after today’s tragic accident. The accident occurred when a truck and picnic bus coming from opposite directions collided head-on at Dergaon.

It is high time NHIDCL and the construction companies completed the four-lane National Highway project as soon as possible. The construction of the national highway projects in upper Assam has been going on since 2015.

Also read:  Businessmen hit by 4-lane NH-37 meet Parimal Suklabaidhya

Also Watch: