Commuters Face Dark Challenges on NH-16 Service Lane Amid Streetlight Absence | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Absence of streetlights on the service lane of NH-16 from Satsang Vihar to Palasuni Square has been causing massive inconvenience to commuters, particularly during the night hours. The 2.5-km stretch is turning absolutely dark, making it a daunting task for commuters to navigate through it at night. While the main carriageway has the necessary lights, it is the service lane where the authorities missed installing the same.
“There is a diversion on the NH from the starting point of Rasulgarh Flyover near Satsang Vihar to the service lane that local residents often use to reach Mancheswar, Rasulgarh, Bomikhal, and other areas down the lane,” said VSS Nagar resident Kamala Hati. He said this side of the service lane of the highway, however, lacked illumination. “After diverting from the NH, one arrives at the dark portion of the road. It gets very difficult to navigate, especially until Rasulgarh Square,” Hati said.
Recently, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), in collaboration with Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, constructed a railway-over-bridge near Satsang Vihar, just at the starting point of the Rasulgarh flyover for entering the service lane.
The bridge was built to widen this portion of NH as well as to avoid traffic jams that this particular stretch often witnessed during busy hours. However, the lack of streetlights now is doubling the trouble for commuters. “We have widened the highway to avoid congestion problems. We received a number of opinions about the enhanced travel experience of commuters after the construction of the bridge,” K Nageswara Rao, project director, NHAI, Bhubaneswar circle, said.
Regarding the streetlight problem, Rao said steps are being taken to address the issue. “Earlier, there were space issues on the service lane side near the flyover, for which the streetlights were not installed,” he said. The project director assured that a tender will be floated soon to take up the streetlight work on the service lane between Satsang Vihar and Palasuni Square. “We are aware of the matter, and it will be resolved very soon,” Rao said.
“There is a diversion on the NH from the starting point of Rasulgarh Flyover near Satsang Vihar to the service lane that local residents often use to reach Mancheswar, Rasulgarh, Bomikhal, and other areas down the lane,” said VSS Nagar resident Kamala Hati. He said this side of the service lane of the highway, however, lacked illumination. “After diverting from the NH, one arrives at the dark portion of the road. It gets very difficult to navigate, especially until Rasulgarh Square,” Hati said.
Recently, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), in collaboration with Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, constructed a railway-over-bridge near Satsang Vihar, just at the starting point of the Rasulgarh flyover for entering the service lane.
The bridge was built to widen this portion of NH as well as to avoid traffic jams that this particular stretch often witnessed during busy hours. However, the lack of streetlights now is doubling the trouble for commuters. “We have widened the highway to avoid congestion problems. We received a number of opinions about the enhanced travel experience of commuters after the construction of the bridge,” K Nageswara Rao, project director, NHAI, Bhubaneswar circle, said.
Regarding the streetlight problem, Rao said steps are being taken to address the issue. “Earlier, there were space issues on the service lane side near the flyover, for which the streetlights were not installed,” he said. The project director assured that a tender will be floated soon to take up the streetlight work on the service lane between Satsang Vihar and Palasuni Square. “We are aware of the matter, and it will be resolved very soon,” Rao said.
