Jamshedpur: East Singhbhum deputy commissioner (DC) Rajiv Ranjan has asked the officials of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), district transport officer, road construction department and the traffic police to remove encroachments and crack down on illegal parking on the 11km-long Pardih-Baliguma stretch of NH-33 to ease traffic and curb accidents.Chairing a meeting of the district highway task force late Monday, the DC asked officials to identify encroachments and unauthorised parking zones and remove them without delay. The officers were directed to continue the drive for two months but were asked to map busy stretches for priority action during the festival season, beginning with Durga Puja later this month.Ranjan also asked officers to publicise action taken against violators. “The cost of removing encroachments should be recovered from the encroachers,” he said.Officials were asked to alert locals before removing encroachments, and the NHAI was directed to demarcate highway land boundaries.NHAI and transport officials informed Ranjan that 71 encroachments were removed on the Dhalbhum-Ghatsila-Kokpara stretch of NH-33, which spans 25km, between Jul and Sept this year. “Wayside amenities have been constructed at Choira, and proposals are in place for similar facilities at three more locations,” the NHAI representative at the meeting said.Ranjan also asked NHAI to take up regular sprinkling of water on the NH-33 to curb dust pollution on the Pardih-Baliguma stretch. Hundreds of potholes, especially near the under-construction flyover zone, continue to trouble motorists and pedestrians during busy peak hours.
