DIBRUGARH, Feb 21 - Upper Assam�s surface communication lifeline is the National Highway 37. The road is used daily by thousands of vehicles, round-the-clock, carrying passengers and goods. However, its pathetic condition raises the eternal question: Does anybody bother? It seems none, other than utterly harassed drivers.
If the 40-odd speed breakers from Jakhalabandha to Bagori have exhausted drivers on the way from Guwahati towards upper Assam, what lies in store ahead of Bokakhat is nothing short of a nightmare. Worse, despite huge public protests, expeditious road repairs are just not in sight.
The 250-odd kilometres between Numaligarh and Dibrugarh � not Dibrugarh city actually, but about 14 km southeast from the city centre � is being widened to a four-laned highway. The original successful bidders were allotted work orders way back in 2014. In these four years, hardly a kilometre of the widened highway has been completed, despite claims by the Union Minister of Road transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. In the meantime, two work packages, which were allotted to a Spanish company, Isolux Corsan have gone for re-tender. This was because the Spanish company was blacklisted for slow work progress. Following this, Mumbai based Gannon Dunkerley bagged the two packages: Jorhat-Jhanji and Jhanji-Demow. The company is already saddled with the Demow-Moran section, and not much progress has been achieved here too. The company is currently known to be haggling with sub contractors for the earth work between Jorhat and Demow.
The condition of the existing highway is such that small car drivers dread driving between Numaligarh and Dibrugarh, as the road surface is so uneven that a single trip forces vehicle owners to go to a garage to have the vehicle suspensions repaired. And if the shock absorbers have to be replaced, the repair cost could well exceed Rs 25,000. Despite this heavy financial burden, those who must take a trip will. A recent traveler on the road, college teacher Pranab Changmai (surname changed at his request) said he had to spend Rs 23,000 repairing his Maruti Swift�s suspension after a trip to Nagaon from here. He said his mother-in-law is now suffering from severe back pain after the journey. This is not a islated case, but quite routine now a days. Will the PWD or NHIDCL explain, Changmai asks.
With no progress on the four-lane highway being achieved, the condition of the existing NH 37 from Dibrugarh to Numaligarh has deteriorated to the extent that any travel on this section is a back-breaking experience. The old highway is being repaired from time to time under contract from the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), but corruption, nepotism and very poor work execution have all contributed to ensure that the so-called repairs are no more than a mere eye wash.
Adding to the danger are the poor condition of the bridge approaches and bridge surfaces on the entire section. At the Bhotiapar end of the Dikhow bridge, a gaping hole greets drivers onto the bridge. Similar gaping holes and dangerous undulations on the approaches are also experienced on the Jhanji, Metong, and Desang river bridges. The worst condition is on the Buri Dehing bridge at Kutuha (off Khowang). Strangely enough, nobody in the PWD or the NHIDCL have bothered to have these bridge surfaces repaired.
It would be significant to note here that in the past, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has issued strict instructions on several occasions to the PWD and NHIDCL, to have the highway repaired, so that users had a better ride quality. Unfortunately, his strict instructions remained in the TV news bulletins and newspaper pages. The Chief Minister�s Office needs to take a serious note of this and see what is holding up the works. Until then, the painfully bumpy ride on NH 37 will continue to torment road users.