Odisha CM writes to Gadkari, seeks NH 55 completion
BHUBANESWAR: Concerned over the inordinate delay in the completion of the Cuttack-Angul-Sambalpur section of NH 55, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sought the intervention of Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari for early completion of the important highway project.
Writing a letter to the Union minister, he said, it is a matter of great concern that the rehabilitation and upgradation of the 265-km highway to a four-lane carriageway being carried out by NHAI since 2017 is yet to be completed even after more than five years.
“NH 55 serves as a lifeline to millions of people of western Odisha. Haphazard construction activities and the miserable plight of the road causes frequent accidents leading to the loss of human lives. As many as 399 accidents have taken place causing 196 fatalities during the last two years. There is public agitation and discontentment among people for inordinate delay in completion of the road work,” Naveen pointed out.
The chief minister said the concern of the state government on this count has been communicated to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways earlier and despite regular review of the progress of the project with the regional authorities of NHAI, no satisfactory outcome is visible.He urged Gadkari to intervene in the matter for early completion of the project, which will go a long way in redressing the pending demand of people of the state.
On March 6, The New Indian Express had published a detailed report titled ‘From Cuttack to Sambalpur, the unending NH 55 pain’ highlighting the factors behind inordinate delay in completion of the highway expansion work. Two senior NHAI officials, including a project director (technical), were suspended over irregularities and tardy progress of the construction work.
One of the most significant highways of Odisha, the NH 55 has long been a crucial connection between coastal, central and western regions of the state. Completed, the highway would link industrial corridors with the ports by providing an uninterrupted connectivity and accelerating movement of mining and industrial traffic.
Started in three phases between March 2017 and March 2018 at a cost of Rs 2,367 crore, the project is incomplete due to delay in completion of bridges, vehicle underpasses (VUPs) and animal underpasses (AUPs). The project estimate has almost doubled at Rs 4,482 crore after five years but only about 60 per cent work has been completed so far.
The project taken up on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode was delayed as the construction agency Hyderabad-based Gayatri Projects Ltd went into a severe financial crisis a year after it bagged the contracts.
