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- Denis Giles
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Dr. Dinesh
The Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) northward route NH-223 is an amazing stretch of 360 kms journey which connects Port Blair to Diglipur in North Andaman which is riddled with pot holes (large & small),craters causing inconvenience and nightmares to the road users and it is extremely hazardous, rains in the recent past have turned the road virtually into a death trap. Everyday hundreds of vehicles passes through ATR, it is fully dotted with potholes and is dangerous to commute on road, motorists have a Herculean task driving through the stretch, tourists from all over the world come and visit the famous Limestone Caves of Baratang and also the beautiful Ross & Smith Island which has a sand bar joining the two Islands at Diglipur.
Recently an official release from the Prime Minister’s office had given a presentation on the vision for holistic development and had initially proposed to open up more Islands for tourism, seeing the bad road conditions the tourists take bitter memories back home and may effect the tourism potential in the long run. Pregnant ladies, referred patients and those already suffering from back aches who commute through the ATR, it can worsen their problems or medical conditions and moreover the drivers had to strain a lot and they too become fatigue while driving.
There have been frequent instances of minor accidents in the past one week because of break down of vehicles or vehicles gone off road, one can’t blame the driver alone for that, the narrow width of the road with potholes make the driver immensely difficult to maneuver while driving with bus passengers or truck loads of essential commodities and perishable items as ATR is the life line of Middle and North Andamans, sometimes while giving way to incoming vehicles the bus or truck tilt to one side as the brim of the road has been washed away by incessant rain. There is breakdown of spring leaf of vehicle due to bad road conditions, if there is breakdown of vehicles on ATR especially in Jarawa reserve area it is extremely difficult and time consuming to get a mechanic and also a nightmare for the travelers too, till an alternate arrangement are made to bring the passengers.
Some of the stretches of ATR doesn’t have retaining wall or proper drainage and during rainy season the water gushes to the road and the tarred road is ripped off. Since it is a National Highway proper maintenance of the road is of utmost importance for the safety of passengers, PWD should do the maintenance work on war footing or else more accidents and breakdown of vehicles can happen and the concerned authorities should not wait for a tragedy.
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- Denis Giles
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Sir,
Apropos news item in The Andaman Chronicle dated 16 Nov, 2015 wherein we have been given to understand that six speed breakers is proposed to be laid at different places in the city.
While agreeing to the contention that Speed Breakers play an important role in regulating vehicular speed, I intend to draw attention of concerned authorities towards the guideline issued by Indian Road Congress (IRC: 99-1988) specifying the general conditions, scope and detailed specifications for design, plan of placement, sign postings, markings, maintenance and other issues relating to use of speed breakers for Indian road conditions.
It will not be out of place to mention that article 5.1 of the IRC guideline reads: Speed breakers are formed basically by providing a rounded (17m radius) hump of 3.7m width and height of 0.10 m (10cm/4 inch) at the centre for general traffic. The document specifically mentions Speed Breakers should be so designed that it should not cause damage to the vehicle nor cause excessive discomfort to the driver and passengers while crossing a hump at the preferred speed. Neither should a hump give rise to excessive noise or cause harmful vibrations to the adjoining buildings or affect other residents of the area.
Therefore, through the columns of your esteemed daily, I request authorities concerned to ensure that the proposed speed breakers conform to the prescribed design specifications. I also request that other safety features such as Retro-reflective warning sign (40m ahead of speed breaker), marking with (yellow and white) paints, which serve as a visual warning and proper illumination of streets are also taken up.
Debkumar Bhadra
Shore Point, Bambooflat, S Andaman
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- Denis Giles
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It is seen the Andaman Public Works Department (APWD) now a days is taking good care of the public roads under its jurisdiction. Erstwhile only those roads within the city limits were maintained regularly, however during the last couple of years the department is seen repairing rural roads almost through the year by filling potholes and damaged edges. Apart from this the rural roads are also being widened and the Speed Breakers that were defective in construct and hampered smooth flow of traffic has either been removed or flattened. I therefore deem it fit to record my appreciation towards APWD, specifically RCD Wimberly Gunj for its recent endeavor in the road sector. Thanks for making life of motorists and other road users comfortable.
Debkumar Bhadra
Shore Point, Bambooflat