Barriers to plug illegal openings to dhabas, gas stations on NH-44

Nitish Sharma

Kurukshetra, June 15

To ensure the entry and exit of vehicles from designated points only, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is closing all unauthorised access points on the National Highway-44 by installing thrie beam crash barriers.

Under this project, access points on the Panipat to Jalandhar stretch are being closed. At present, the focus in on the Panipat to Ambala stretch. From the next week, the work will be undertaken in Punjab. About 10 teams are working on the NH-44 in Haryana.

The unauthorised road openings on the highway have been a matter of concern for the NHAI and the local district administration. The matter is taken up at every road safety meeting.

In order to curb road accidents, under the Road Safety Policy, all such openings on the highway in front of private properties are to be closed.

Yogesh Kumar, a commuter, said, “I travel on the NH-44 regularly and several vehicles use these openings, risking their lives and those of others. Mostly these are used to approach eateries and fuel stations. There have been incidents of trucks overturning after getting unbalanced due to uneven points on such openings.”

Surinder Kumar, who runs a tea stall outside a fuel station along the highway, said, “Though it will affect business, safety is important. The NHAI should ensure that all these points are closed and proper signboards are installed informing commuters about authorised entry and exit points.”

An NHAI official said, “Though cemented blocks were placed and fencing was done in the past, new unauthorised openings were created by people at several locations. At some places, heavy vehicles were used to shift the cemented blocks and the fencing was also damaged. Besides closing such openings on the NH-44, structural deficiencies are also being rectified.”

Panipat-Ambala stretch the focus

• Access points on the Panipat to Jalandhar stretch will be closed under the project.
• At present, the focus in on the Panipat to Ambala stretch.
• Next week, the work will be taken up in Punjab.
• Besides, the work to rectify structural deficiencies is also under way on the highway.