National Highway 3 work progresses at snail’s pace, people sore

Hamirpur, May 9

The slow pace of work on the National Highway 3 has put thousands of people in distress, forcing them to live in a dusty environment round the clock.

The environmental pollution has left many people sick, besides destroying several water bodies on the roadside.

DUSTY CONDITIONS

We regularly sprinkle water to lessen the effect of dust. More vehicles will be deployed to increase the frequency of water sprinkling. — Shrikant, Supervisor at construction site

The stretch of the National Highway from Hamirpur to Mandi passes through 91 villages covering over 100 km. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has started construction of about 40-km stretch between Kot village in Hamiprur district towards Dharampur in Mandi district.

The deadline for this particular stretch of the National Highway had been extended from July 2023 to December 2024.

Going by the pace of work, it appears that the company assigned the job will not be able to complete it even by next year.

Sansar Chand, a resident of a village near Tauni Devi, alleged that the construction company was ignoring the norms and making people live in a horrible condition.

He added that the company was neither sprinkling water regularly to lessen the dust in the air nor adhering to late night noise pollution norms.

Reena Kumari, whose house is situated on the roadside, said the construction work should be stopped at night. She added that the ongoing work had given them sleepless nights. Besides, those suffering of ailments were adversely affected, she added.

Pertinent to mention here that even Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur had repeatedly directed the authorities to improve the working of the company, but there was no relief for the people. The residents had informed Anurag Thakur about the problem as and when he visited his native place at Smeerpur.

Anurag Thakur had assured the people that the National Highway construction would be completed soon and that it would not only reduce travel time but also save their money.

Shrikant, a supervisor at the construction site, said the company was sprinkling water regularly to check to lessen the effect of dust.

He added that more vehicles would be deployed to increase the frequency of water sprinkling.