BHUBANESWAR: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has sought the intervention of Union Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari to expedite the expansion work of Cuttack-Angul and Sambalpur-Angul sections of NH-42 (new NH-55).In a letter to Gadkari on Friday, Pradhan said he has received a petition from the people of Boinda village in Angul district regarding inordinate delay in expansion and improvement of the NH sections passing through Odisha.
Pradhan said foundation of NH-42 (55) was laid in December, 2018 and it was decided that the work will be completed by September, 2020. The villagers alleged that the work remained incomplete till date.
Pradhan said locals have also raised questions on the quality of the work which is not up to the mark.
“Further, they have stated that the expansion work of NH-42 (55) has been entrusted to Gayatri Projects Limited which does not implement the work properly causing road accidents regularly,” he said.
Stating that around 600 lives have been lost in several road accidents in this area during the last four years, the Union Minister said that construction of two bridges at Panimahar and Chandan Pokhiri has not yet been completed. In addition, construction of seven elephant underpasses (EUP) is also pending, he said, adding, apart from these problems the land compensation amount at revised rate has not been paid to the land losers in many places. Pradhan requested Gadkari to look into the matter at personal level.