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Vishav Bharti
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 16
There are just 16 legal access points, but hundreds of illegal such points on the National Highway-44 in Punjab. This is posing threat to lives of commuters. The fact came to the fore in a survey done by NGO ArriveSAFE.
As per a survey, there are 146 unauthorised access points on just 113-km stretch from Jalandhar to the J&K border. Besides that there are 102 unauthorised business establishments as well.
The survey found that nearly 3,000 big business establishments housing complexes, colleges, marriage palaces, hospitals, hotels, petrol pumps, factories, vehicle agencies, etc, are located on the 277-km stretch (Shambhu barrier to Punjab/J&K border) falling in Punjab.
However, only 16 businesses have taken mandatory access permission, an RTI reply given by the Highway Administration revealed.
“Earlier, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had detected 146 unauthorised access points on the 113-km stretch from Jalandhar to the J&K border in 2017, but no action was taken against the violators. Surprisingly, the NHAI has no data on violations on the 162-km stretch from Shambhu barrier to Jalandhar,” said Harman Singh Sidhu of the ArriveSAFE.
As per the fresh survey by the NGO nearly 3,000 big business establishments (housing complexes, colleges, marriage palaces, hospitals, hotels, petrol pumps, factories, vehicle agencies, etc) are there from the Shambhu barrier to the Punjab/J&K border.
“Shockingly this vital issue is not even considered in reports published by the Punjab Police on road accident. As per the latest report, there is 6 per cent increase in fatalities which would further increase if such loopholes are not plugged,” said Sidhu.
As per guidelines of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, every business establishment applies for access permission, the Highway Administration conducts safety audit, charges fee and grants permission that has to be renewed every five years.
While commuters pay a hefty toll, the highway becomes a death trap due to unsafe infrastructure, ie illegal accesses/cuts, broken or filled up drains, guard railings and parapets. Such illegal businesses are quickly coming up along the newly laid highways turning them into death traps.
“While Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is making ambitious efforts to construct 40 km of NHs every day, precious human lives are being lost everyday due to non compliance of mandatory guidelines by the NHAI,” he said.
Unauthorised businesses along highway
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