ROURKELA: Dodging the maze of speeding vehicles, thousands of students take the risk of crossing the busy National Highway (NH)-143 to reach their schools every day in Sundargarh’s Kuanrmunda and Lahunipada blocks.
At least four government schools at Kumjharia and Harihar in Kuanrmunda and another 20 till Rajamunda in Lahunipada are located in close proximity to the major highway. But there is no safety provision in these two dozens of vulnerable school zones.
Sources said the four-laning of NH-143 from Birmitrapur to Rajmunda is nearing completion and the incessant movement of speeding vehicles on the route poses a threat to several thousand students who have to cross the highway risking their lives to reach their schools.
Headmaster Kumjhari Government High School Sanjay Samal said with vehicles plying on the NH at high speed, he is worried about the safety of students.
Samal informed that the high school is so close that it comes under the right of way (RoW). For the expansion of NH-143, the school’s boundary wall had to be relocated. “All school staff stand guard outside the gate to help students safely cross the highway. While construction of underpass is a costly affair, the NHAI is not even considering minimum safety measures like putting up signages, zebra crossing or safety railing,” he rued.
An NHAI official requesting anonymity said on demand, they can put up safety signages and zebra crossing in school areas. But the installation of safety railings or construction of underpasses would require extra budget and sanction at the highest level.
Convenor of Kuanrmunda Citizen Committee Rajesh Kerketta said for regulation of speed, surveillance cameras have been installed on State highway 10. But no such provision has been made on NH-143. “It is surprising that neither the district administration nor NHAI ever thought of securing the vulnerable school areas from accident hazard,” he said.
Kerketta said residents of Kuarmunda have stopped NH-143 expansion work on a 400-metre stretch demanding an underpass. The NHAI and district administration should take immediate steps to regulate speed on the busy highway and ensure the safety of school-going children.