This monsoon, people of Hazaribagh can have a pothole-free ride on Hurhuru Road, connecting the town with Barkagaon and Keredari blocks, which was filled with craters till last week.

Thanks to National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which is developing Rs 441-crore Hazaribagh-Bijupada State Highway, of which the road is a part, and a Good Samaritan MLA, with whose initiatives, the potholes on the 5km stretch has been filled.

After the NTPC started the work on the 117km stretch connecting Hazaribagh with Bijupada in neighbouring Odisha in April, local BJP MLA Manish Jaiswal requested the officials and the state highway authority of Jharkhand to repair the road.

"I told them about the condition of the road, asking them to repair it as soon as possible," said the MLA.

Though it would take another two years to complete the Hazaribagh-Bijupada two-lane highway, in the meantime, the NTPC has repaired the Hurhuru Road.

Ranjan Choudhary, media in-charge of MLA Jaiswal, said NTPC started the repair work on July 14 and completed it on Monday, making the road motorable.

Till last Thursday when the work started, it had been a risky ride on the posh road flanked by many schools and business establishments. Commuters had to risk their lives, especially the bikers and heavy vehicle drivers, crossing a pothole-filled stretch.

As it is an important stretch, starting from Kargil More in Hazaribagh town and linking neighbouring Chatra district and NH-33 (Ranchi-Patna Highway) via Barkagaon and Keredari, many heavy vehicles, especially of coal mines, ply regularly, making it one of the most busiest road of the state.

But, local people said this had resulted in craters at various points, causing minor or major accidents everyday.