The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has granted Rs45 crore for widening and strengthening of a 24 kilometer stretch of road between Chhatarpur in Jharkhand’s Palamu to Dumaria in Bihar. The administrative, technical and financial sanction to this road has been accorded.
Speaking to The Pioneer Palamu MP VD Ram said, "I had met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and had prevailed upon him for the widening and strengthening of this road and the Indian government gave fund for this." Ram is learnt to have worked hard for this road.
The road falls in difficult and disturbed area that is heavily infested with Naxalism. It proves tough for even security forces to manage the area. On being asked as to why he chose this road, VD Ram candidly replied, "Once this road is widened and strengthened it will be at par with any national highway. Second it is an interstate connectivity linking Jharkhand to Bihar and further it reduces the distance between the Buddhist circuit of Gaya and Palamu."
The widening and strengthening of this road would take place in two parts. First is Chhatarpur to Taridih which is 10.80 kilometer stretch. The second is Taridih to Dumaria of 12.87 kilometer.
The road would be widened from 5.5 meter to 7 meter. The MP further said the existing three bridges on this road namely Mandeya, Sukhnadeya and Bataney would be re built afresh as those were single lane.
Under Secretary in the Ministry SK Jha has written a letter to the Secretary of Road Construction Department of Jharkhand in this connection.
The letter has categorically instructed not to split the work of widening and strengthening of this road into small parts and awarding the work to number of contractors; a practice that has hit the State most.
VD Ram added further that three more roads like Japla Chhatarpur (estimated cost 106 crores) Mohammadganj Dangwar (estimated cost 126 crores) and Japla Pathra Ghat (estimated cost Rs52 crores) are on the anvil.