Make all NHs pothole-free in a month, govt orders officials

NEW DELHI: Concerned over reports of potholes on National Highways (NHs), the road transport ministry has directed its officers across regions to make the entire NH network “pothole-free” in a month.
Sources said that at a meeting earlier this week, road transport secretary Giridhar Aramane directed all officials concerned to put special focus on potholes as part of the ongoing special campaign to address public grievances and VIP references. The secretary is learnt to have said that potholes on NHs is unacceptable and hence need immediate attention of field officers.
Potholes on NHs pose bigger risk as the average speed of vehicles on such stretches is high and sudden slowdown or braking to avoid potholes can cause major crashes.

Officials in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said they have taken up this task as a top priority and the progress is being monitored on a daily basis.
Recently, the road transport ministry had deployed two senior officers in Gujarat to oversee the maintenance works. TOI has learnt that there were several rounds of reviews in Gujarat by top officials, including by Tarun Kapoor, adviser to the PM, the road transport secretary and NHAI chairperson Alka Upadhyaya.