BIKASH
CHOUDHURY
After a long time I had to travel by road to Govindpur near
Dhenkanal to attend a marriage of a relative on 26th January 2014 . I have never been as scared
for dear life as, while traveling down the NH-42 that connects business capital
of Odisha with the industrial hub of Angul & Talcher. In last two years the
vehicle population and its frequency has grown manifold while the road space
and the quality of road elevation that much poorer and traffic discipline much worse.
Four Laneing of NH-42 remains in the drawing board for the better part of last
decade and by the time four laneing would be completed the traffic volume would
have grown beyond the capacity of four lane highways. And, we would be back to
square once again. Therefore, there is an acute need for a perspective plan for
our logistical need that centers on the multi-modal options both for passengers
& cargo transportation at an optimal level; taking into account our
constraints like land, labor and capital while exploring the alternative means
for transport. In the specific case of NH-42; we could plan for a mono rail for
passenger transport and Talcher-Dhamara water ways for cargo to bring little
sanity to our roads in future and save the fear for life of road users in this
busy national highway. Any takers?
No comments:
Post a Comment