TEZPUR, Aug 20 - The Tezpur-Lakhimpur stretch of NH 15 and the Tezpur to Nagaon and Jorhat via Koliabor NH 37 (A) stretches have turned into veritable death traps due to the knee-deep potholes all over them.
According to police records, in the last one year more than 100 people have lost their lives in road mishaps on these stretches. Due to the lack of timely repairs of the big potholes, the commuters are facing untold miseries.
Today, another mishap occurred on the Tezpur-Balipara NH 15, in which a Maruti Van bearing No-NL-O1C-3409 collided head-on with a truck (AS-01EC-8351) at Ghoramari Tiniali and two persons died on the spot. The deceased were later identified as Mewalal Singh (driver of the Maruti Van) and Ramjanat Choudhury (a passenger in the Maruti Van). In the incident, seven others sustained serious injuries. They were identified as Dinesh Choudhury, Suman Kumari (17), Ramesh Kumar, Dipak Choudhury and Suraj Choudhury and they were rushed to Kanaklata Civil Hospital here. This is the second accident in the last 24 hours on NH-15 from Gohpur to Tezpur. On Saturday morning, three persons had to embrace untimely death in a road mishap in front of the Chaidwar College due to the most dilapidated condition of this stretch of the road.
It is a fact that though traffic volume is increasing day by day, compounding the number of accidents due to the big potholes, the agencies concerned particularly the National Highway Authority which is solely responsible for the maintenance has been reluctant. It is alleged that though in the recent past, a good amount of fund was allotted for the widening of the Tezpur-Balipara road, but due to siphoning of fund by unscrupulous people, nothing has been done for one of the important NHs of the State.
Various national organisations including the AASU, ABSU, AATTSA have alleged that the present BJP Government both at the State and the Centre are fully responsible for this state of affairs as they have done nothing in this regard.
