A potholed NH31 at Teesta More in North Dinajpur’s Chopra. Picture by Mehedi Hedaytullah

Islampur, Nov. 1: The National Highways Authority of India has complained to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and has asked her to intervene as local toughs along two stretches in Chopra are resisting the completion of the four-laning of NH31 that was supposed to be ready by 2009.

Two spots on NH31 — a 900-metre strip at Kalagachh and a 1km stretch (about two kilometres away) — where flyovers had been planned could not be completed because of extortion bids. The construction of the flyovers had been taken up in 2007.

Sources in the NHAI said local toughs were demanding money from the contractors engaged for the work.

According to the NHAI sources, letters were sent to the chief minister and PWD minister in the second week of last month, stating that construction of nearly 2km road remained incomplete because of resistance from criminal gangs and local political leaders.

“We are really worried about the condition of the road at these two spots. Accidents have become frequent where hundreds of vehicles ply everyday. Even school children have to use this road. Something has to be done urgently,” said NHAI’s project manager at Kishanganj, Dinesh Ansari.

According to the official, two construction companies had been awarded the contract to turn NH31 into a four-lane road from Purnea More in Dalkhola till Sonapur in Chopra, a stretch of 70km.

When the companies started work, they faced resistance from the local traders. The traders protested the fourlaning of the stretch of NH31 that passes through the heart of Islampur town, fearing eviction.

Ultimately, a decision was taken to construct the road bypassing the town.

This work, too, could not take off as land could not be acquired following stiff resistance from 15 farmers unwilling to hand over their plots.

According to Ansari, of the 70km stretch, the four-laning of nearly 57km was complete. The problem remains with two spots covering hardly 13km — Kalagach and Islampur.

Library minister and Trinamul MLA from Islampur Chowdhury Abdul Karim said: “In Islampur, we had tried our level-best to convince the landowners about the importance of the bypass road. But we failed. In the case of Chopra, the MLA, the panchayat samities and the gram panchayats belong to the Congress.”

Congress MLA from Chopra Hamidul Rahman, however, denied the charge that his party had anything to do with backing the local toughs in their extortion bids.

“The NHAI is not serious about completing the work, otherwise they would have filed specific police complaints,” he said. The subdivisional officer of Islampur, Partha Ghosh, said the NHAI should have filed a police complaint.