The good quality of steel girders installed along the side of the road at the danger zones of Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway (NH 108) is proving detrimental to road safety. This is so because the steel girders have been stolen from various locations.
The locals suspect that a big and well organised gang of criminals is responsible for this theft.
In order to prevent vehicles from accidently falling off the road down the mountainside, the Border Roads Organisation has erected steel girders along the accident prone stretches of the national highway.
The high quality steel used in these garders has attracted the attention of thieves. Due to the quality of the steel, many of the garders put up on the stretch of the national highway between Sabli and Nagni have been stolen.
locals Vipin Jaddhari and Vijaypal Singh have demanded that the local authorities should nab the thieves.
Failure to apprehend the thieves will lead to a rise in such thefts. Stealing the steel garders amounts to increasing the risk faced by road users on the highway, making it more important for the thieves to be nabbed.
The BRO officer in charge, Chamba, Vikas Parikh said that information had been received about steel garders being stolen from some locations. A police report will be lodged to prevent repeat of such theft, he added.