Local residents of Jharia are up in arms against the dangerous condition of the accident-prone Jharia-Dhanbad road.

Councillor of Ward Number 36 of Jharia, Niranaj Prasad, said,

“Every day, one or two persons, particularly motorcycle riders, are falling into large potholes which become more dangerous during monsoon,” said Niranjan Prasad, Ward No.36 Councillor, adding that they will be compelled to sit on a dharna and if the situation does not improve soon.

“The situation turns more difficult near the Ena Islampur area near our ward during the night and particularly during power cuts,” charged Prasad.

“We have written to the authorities, including Municipal Commissioner Satyendra Kumar but to no avail. The situation is worse at the Ena Islampur area, which is totally covered with potholes logged with rainwater, causing confusion among vehicle owners and particularly motorcycle riders,” he said, adding that erroneous planning and unscrupulous execution were responsible for the current condition of the area.

Water logged in potholes on Jharia-Dhanbad road at Ena-Islampur area in Jharia, Dhanbad on Monday Gautam Dey

The stretch near Ena Islampur, part of the 25.71km Bank More Sindri Road started developing potholes less than six months after the completion of broadening and strengthening work carried out in 2017.

“There is an underlying water supply pipeline of civic body Jharkhand Mineral Area Development Authority (JMADA) beneath the road, which had not been properly shifted before the work carried out by the road construction department via contractor Balkrishna Bhalotia in 2015-16,” said Prasad.

“Thus, due to leakages in the pipeline the road often gets damaged” he said, and added that the construction of a divider is also erroneous as it does not allow the water to recede from the road and creates water logging.

“Ideally there should also have been the provision of drains besides the road to allow the water to pass instead of getting accumulated on the road,” said Prasad.

Heavy blasting carried out in adjoining collieries near the road also leads to development of leakages in the pipeline, he said.

“We are working on a comprehensive proposal of around 80 crore for the strengthening of road from Bank More to Bengal Border or the 40km stretch which is part of National Highway 218. But before the proposal gets sanctioned we will carry out a temporary repair prior to Durga Puja as soon as the monsoon ends,” said executive engineer of National Highway, Amarendra Saha.