NASHIK :
The equation of rain and pits seems to be fixed every year. When the rains start, pits on the roads become more visible.
However, several stretches on the Nashik-Mumbai highway are in a poor state than usual this year creating inconvenience to commuters, four-wheeler owners and bikers.
Small and big potholes are visible at every kilometer. Especially near Vadivarhe, Ghoti, Igatpuri, Kasara and Shahapur, a question clicks in minds of every traveller that whether the roads are in the potholes or the potholes on the roads.
The incessant rains especially in Igatpuri tehsil, have made the roads muddy. In addition to this, due to stagnant water in the potholes, the depth of these pits is not getting known and due to this vehicles are also getting damaged.
Apart from this, small and big accidents of two-wheelers and four-wheelers are also happening due to potholes. At night, drivers have to work hard to make their way through the potholes.
Due to potholes on this Nashik-Mumbai highway connecting Kasara, drivers have to face traffic jams in many places. It takes over five hours to cover the distance from Nashik to Mumbai when it usually takes around four hours. So considering all these circumstances, ‘why should we pay toll?’ such an angry question is being posed by motorists.
In particular, citizens are avoiding travelling on this highway in expensive and luxury cars due to risk of damage to their vehicles. The locals as well as the farmers are struggling to travel for their routine work.
Citizens of Igatpuri tehsil say that despite repeated complaints to the local people’s representatives and officials of the National Highways Authority (NHAI), there is no improvement in the condition of roads or no permanent solution is find out and thus people have to face this problem every year.
The rains have not been satisfactory this year. Due to the pandemic, traffic on this route was closed for a long time for vehicles other than essential services. However, the present poor state of roads on the highway has raised eyebrows and raised many questions about the functioning of the public works department.
As soon as the potholes surface, the news is spread or an agitation is started by a political party. As a result, the road gets temporarily patch work, but after a few days, the road condition again start showing its original state. Currently, a new trend has started to fill the potholes with paverblocks.
Looking at the condition of the national highway as a whole, it is better not to imagine the condition of the roads in the villages. At present, before any major accident or mishap occurs, the concerned department needs to fill these potholes on Nashik-Mumbai highway immediately, besides, the government needs to take some permanent measures, demand travellers.
