BHUBANESWAR: With public anger mounting over inordinate delay in expansion and poor upkeep of the National Highway-5 from Manguli Chhak to Angul town, the State government on Wednesday asked the State head of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to make the road motorable without delay.
The issue raised by BJD MLA from Angul Rajanikant Singh was discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra here on Wednesday. Angul Collector Sidhartha Shankar Swain apprised the precarious condition of NH-5 particularly the Banarpal and Angul town stretch.
As this portion of the NH is not in motorable condition, the district administration is receiving large number of complaints from the local people. Singh said the road condition has become "pathetic after rains and prone to accidents".
The Chief Secretary directed the Chief General Manager of NHAI Ram Chandra Panda to ensure that the repair work is done immediately and bring the road to a motorable condition. He further asked to expedite construction of Angul city bypass road to ease out traffic.
The NHAI CGM assured that the repair and maintenance works will be taken up on war footing. Principal Secretary Works, Vir Vikram Yadav and Engineer in Chief, Manoranjan Mishra were asked to monitor the progress.