Tripura govt asks NHDCL to complete NH repair work before Durga puja

The Tripura government has asked the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) to complete the repair work of the Assam-Agartala National Highway (NH-8) before Durga puja, a senior official said on Sunday.

The Durga puja, the biggest festival in the northeastern state, will commence on September 29.

Following reports of the bad condition of the national highway from Kumarghat to Churaibari in Unakoti and North districts, PWD secretary Kiran Gitte, along with senior officials of NHIDCL and state PWD, visited the national highway to take stock of the situation on Saturday.

Earlier, Chief Minister Manik Saha also held a meeting with officials to review the bad condition or roads, including the national highway and asked for repair works on a war footing.

"On Saturday, I travelled over 400 km through the national highway from Khowai to Kamalpur and Churaribari via Manu and Kumarghat. Senior officials from NHIDCL and state PWD also accompanied me. The road from Kumarghat to Churaibari needs immediate repair as several patches of it suffered severe damage due to the ongoing monsoon," Gitte told PTI.

According to him, the NHIDCL has been asked to complete the repair work from Kumarghat to Churaibari before Durga puja.

"I have asked NHIDCL to complete repair work by Durga puja. I have also told them to bring high officials (from outside the state) to see the ground reality", he said.

Gitte further added that the state highways or other roads, which are maintained by the state PWD, are better than the national highways executed by the NHIDCL through sub-contractors.

West Tripura MP and former CM Biplab Kumar Deb met the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, in Delhi on July 23 and urged him to send high-level officials to the northeastern state to check the condition of roads.

"Plans are there to construct sustainable RCC roads in the coming days that can withstand the heavy rainfall in Tripura. Urged the Union minister to send a team consisting of high-level officials for quality checking and identifying the defects and take necessary strict actions," Deb posted on Facebook after meeting with Gadkari.