Fly-ash near Khapri ROB poses danger to drivers

Nagpur: Sheer apathy by the contractor of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is endangering the lives of drivers using Khapri railway overbridge (ROB). A lot of fly-ash to be used in the new underconstruction ROB is lying on the road side. During strong winds it enters the eyes of two-wheeler riders and can cause a major accident.
M Chandrashekhar, regional officer of NHAI, told TOI on Monday evening he would immediately direct the contractor to take remedial measures.
TOI had sent him photographs of fly-ash getting dispersed reducing visibility.
Nitin Kumar, a resident of Chinchbhuvan, who was coming towards city centre in his car on Monday evening, said fly-ash was getting dispersed on the road during windy conditions. “The visibility was down to five feet. As I was inside a car fly-ash did not enter my eyes. However, I saw several two-wheeler riders having difficulty in driving as ash had entered their eyes,” he told TOI.
The fly-ash is kept on road side along the ramp of the existing ROB towards Chinchbhuvan. It is lying there since days.
Slamming the contractor, Kumar said, “It is common sense that sufficient water should be poured on the fly-ash so that it settles down and does not gets dispersed during storm. This will not be a problem when rains drench the ash but as of now it is causing a lot of inconvenience to motorists.”
Sukriti Patil, a resident of Chhatrapati Nagar, who travels to Mihan every day on her scooter, said she narrowly avoided a collision with a truck when fly-ash entered her eyes on Monday evening. “Police should immediately lodge an offence against the contractor for endangering lives of common citizens,” she added.
A retired public works engineer said both the contractor and NHAI were at fault as basic norms for storing fly-ash had been ignored. “It should not be kept beside the road but at a safe distance,” he added.