Accident-prone zone on Haridwar-Narsain highway in Uttrakhand to be made safer

The Haridwar district administration has indentified 22 accident-prone zones between Narsain and Haridwar to prevent road mishaps on the NH-58 that connects the state capital Dehradun with holy city.

More than a dozen people have been killed in road accidents on the national highway in the last couple of years, activists said.

Following directives from the Supreme Court, a state-level road safety panel was constituted that has identified 22 accident-prone zones between Gurukul Narsain and Doodhadhari square in the city, where most of the accidents took place the last couple of years, said National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project manager Pradeep Gusain.

“We are committed for safety of motorists and commuters and will soon make the identified accident-prone zones safer,” he said.

The court constituted road safety panel has found a number of loopholes and laxity at the identified accident-prone zones, including road dividers not being installed, incomplete construction, unleveled road, haphazard dumping of raw material on the side of the road, no signage’s and no night reflectors have been set up at the accident-prone spots.

Taking cognizance of the panel’s report, district magistrate Deepak Rawat has directed NHAI, local civic bodies and the police, to rectify the flaws within in a week to prevent road accidents along the accident-prone zones.

“A week time has been given to look into the ways of rectify the flaws at the identified accident-prone stretches,” Rawat said.

It has also come into light that some shop-owners have cut open road dividers in front of the establishments for ease of vehicles to enter the commercial complexes, which is putting the lives of commuters and pedestrian at risk, he told Hindustan Times.

“Police officials have been asked to file cases and take legal action against such offenders.”

Activist Ratan Mani Dobhal, who has filed a right to information applications on the delay and danger to commuters due the extension project on the Haridwar-Dehradun highway, said in the coming months, the Chardham pilgrimage will commence and more accidents can take place.

“The accident-prone zones need to be made safer for travelling on priority basis,” he said.

A number of people have lost their lives due to the laxity and tardiness in the way the highway construction agency, local authorities and traders who are cutting gaps in the road dividers to ensure unauthorized passage of vehicle, he said.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has sought a reply from the NHAI director over the delay in construction of the Haridwar-Dehradun national highway project.

The rights commission’s stricture come in the wake of complaint lodged by activist Ramesh Chand Sharma, the commission has sought reply within eight weeks, asking the NHAI why the work has not yet been completed despite the October 2013 deadline.

“I lodged the complaint as road mishaps keep taking place in accident-prone zone,” he said.

The Centre has allocated ₹ 1267 crore for four-lane project on the NH-58 and NH-72 in 2009 with a deadline of 2013.But, even after five years, lest than 70% work has been completed, he told HT.

“Daily traffic snarls, accidents cause delay for patients in reaching hospitals.”