Two major highways in north Bengal, NH12 and NH27, are virtually in tatters, with residents, mango traders and even administrative officials prodding the National Highways Authority of Indian (NHAI) to take up repairs.
On Monday, villagers from the outskirts of Raiganj in North Dinajpur blocked NH12 for two hours starting 10.30am, demanding immediate repairs of damaged parts of the highway and rural roads. The blockade lifted after administrative and police officials intervened.
The NH12 (formerly NH34) is the main road link of Calcutta and south Bengal with the northern districts of the state. But in many parts of Malda and North Dinajpur, where NH12 passes, the bitumen cover has peeled off to expose craters and potholes, with minor accidents occurring every day.
The cratered highway spurred mango growers in Malda, reeling from the twin blows of the Covid-induced lockdown and Cyclone Amphan, to write to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari about their plight on Friday.
They said they had received orders from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and the Northeast and wanted to sell whatever they could to recover some losses. But the “pathetic highway” was coming in their way.
Mango Merchants’ Association of Malda president Uzzal Saha said trucks with mangoes often got stuck on the highway as vehicles developed mechanical snags. “Mangoes become overripe or rot on the road,” Saha said. “It is not possible for all mango traders here to own temperature-controlled container trucks. Sometimes when mangoes rot on the way because of such delays, buyers cancel orders. If these damaged stretches are not repaired immediately, we doubt whether we can sell whatever produce left with us,” said Saha.
In Jalpaiguri, the stretch of NH27 that connects Jalpaiguri with Maynaguri is in a bad shape.
“The cratered stretch leads to the Teesta bridge. Traffic snarls make it a nightmare for two-wheeler riders like me,” said Rajesh Dutta of Jalpaiguri who rides frequently to Maynaguri.
Jalpaiguri district magistrate Abhishek Tiwary at a meeting last Saturday had asked NHAI officials to take up NH27 repairs on priority. “The NHAI has been asked to carry out repairs within seven days. Vehicles move slowly and policemen face problems in controlling traffic. The state PWD has been asked to repair the state highway that links Jalpaiguri with Haldibari,” he said.
Plabon Pramanik, a private bus owner in Raiganj, said commuters feared worse during heavy rain.
Rain alert
Met office sources forecast rain in north Bengal — heavy to very heavy rainfall (70mm to 200mm) at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall (245mm and above) in one or two places — from Wednesday for three days. Districts in focus are Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar.
“There is anticipation that the trough that is steady over the region can shift northwards at the mean sea level and a strong south-westerly flow might reach from Bay of Bengal. These can lead to heavy, very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall between June 24 to 26,” said G.N. Raha, a meteorologist at the Met office in Gangtok.
