The slow pace of works by the National Highways Authority of India on the Uthangarai-Singarapettai stretch of the Tindivanam-Krishnagiri National Highway 77, combined with the recent rain, has made commute through the road impossible.
The stretch, riddled with potholes, constitutes the 180-km-long Tindivanam-Krishnagiri NH that was announced a little over a decade ago in 2010 and commissioned in 2012. However, the project was stalled and eventually abandoned by the concessionaire Transtory Krishnagiri-Tindivanam Highways Private Limited due to cost escalation. The hike in cost of raw materials escalated the project cost way above the commissioned cost of ₹ 612 crore.
The NH 77 from Puducherry to Krishnagiri provides connectivity via Tindivanam, Tiruvanamalai and Uthangarai.
In 2018, the Union government made a one time-fund infusion and resurrected the project, however not at a desired speed.
The road expansion works that commenced along the stretch was carried out at a snail’s pace, say commuters.
Heavy vehicles caught in the slush left behind by the road expansion works irks public. Trucks stuck in the slush cause additional burden to the commuting traffic, says a local. “The promise to expedite the NH 77 works was made during each election and then forgotten,” says the local not wanting to be named.
Collector V. Jayachandra Bhanu Reddy acknowledged the slow pace of works and the complaints reaching the administration’s control room.
“The trouble is the 8-km stretch between Uthangarai and Singarapettai. The district administration is conducting weekly reviews on the progress of the works and monitoring the situation.”
