PERIL’S PROGRESS AT DIMNA CHOWK ON NH-33, STEEL CITY GATEWAY
bone-rattling ride. Pictures by Bhola Prasad
Jamshedpur: A 5km stretch on Tata-Kandra Road has turned hazardous for over 10,000 daily commuters as repairs taken up by Jharkhand Accelerated Road Development Company Ltd (JARDCL), a private agency engaged by state road construction department, were left midway owing to monsoon.
Constructed by the JARDCL in 2012, the 15km Tata-Kandra Road along Adityapur industrial area in Seraikela-Kharsawan, 1km from the heart of Jamshedpur, was to get a fresh top coat after five years as part of maintenance. But the road construction agency chose the wrong time to start work.
Instead of starting work after rainy season, JARDCL decided to do so just before monsoon arrived in June and abandoned the work in July first week.
POTHOLE
As a result, a 5km stretch from Kandra toll plaza towards Adityapur is extremely risky at present as it is uneven without zebra crossing and reflectors on dividers.
Adityapur-based entrepreneur Shambhu Prasad Singh, who has his industrial unit at Chandil in Seraikela-Kharsawan, and drives his SUV on the stretch, said the ride was extremely difficult even for his heavy duty vehicle.
"It must be more tough for smaller cars and two-wheelers taking the stretch," he said.
Even a truck driver, Sukhdev Singh, said the stretch was too bad to negotiate.
WARTS
Asked, JARDCL manager Gautam Kumar confirmed they had stopped work on Tata-Kandra Road due to the onset of monsoon.
"We have to lay the top layer on 8km of bitumen road. We have dug up about 5km. Work will resume after monsoon and will take two months to finish," Kumar said.
Local NGO Jan Kalyan Morcha demanded waiver of toll tax till repair is complete.
"When JARDCL has left work midway, why should vehicle owners pay tax for the uneven road? Taxes can resume once the stretch is repaired and commuters get a smooth ride" said Om Prakash, NGO president.
PUDDLES
Body found
The body of one Jitu Kumar Prasad (26), a resident of Gamharia, was recovered from a pond at Baladih in Seraikela-Kharsawan on Saturday. Police suspect it to be a murder case.
