Construction material dumped on highway a traffic hazard

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Una, August 22

Private contractors building a drain along the Mehatpur-Una-Mubarakpur National Highway have dumped construction material in the middle of the road, creating a traffic hazard. Sand, gravel and other materials have been dumped on the busy road near Badala and Dehlan villages.

Sources said the contractors had been assigned work of a drain along the road. They had dumped the material in the middle of the road and also erected their boards, which created traffic bottlenecks. The material dug from along the road for construction of the drain is also dumped on the road.

Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Badala, said since the Mehatpur-Una-Mubarakpur road was a four-lane highway, commuters generally travelled fast on it. The construction material dumped on the road was a hazard for the commuters, especially during the night. Some motorcyclists had met with accidents due to this malpractice, he said.

PWD officials said nobody, not even government contractors, can dump material on the road for more than 24 hours. In case the material is dumped and traffic is disrupted, action could be taken against the accused under the Infrastructure Protect Act. Under this Act, the material of the accused can be confiscated by the department and fine can be imposed.

Though the Act was there, the PWD hardly invoked it. Due to laxity of authorities, people even damage roads to lay their private pipes and for other purposes, they added.