Residents Block NH – 8 in North Tripura, Demand Immediate Repair of Deplorable Highway

Just when a road block by villagers in one state of Northeast is about to end, another has begun.

Residents of six villages in North Tripura have come together to block the National Highway 8, popularly known as Assam-Agartala road, demanding immediate repair of the deplorable highway.

The protest that took place in Kherengjuri area of Dharmanagar sub-division in North Tripura district on Saturday witnessed participation from residents of Kherengjuri, Balichara, Chandpur, Lakshi Nagar, Fulbari and Churaibari villages.

The stretch of more than 10 Km of the national highway from Churaibari Sanichara hospital area to Kherengjuri is in a deplorable condition for more than one-and-a-half year.

The residents said that the big potholes on the highway is posing significant problem to the people as well as school- going children.

The residents alleged that a pregnant woman died on way to the hospital. The woman needed immediate medical attention but because of the bad road condition she could not reach the hospital in time and the woman died.

The agitators claimed that despite multiple protests and blockades demanding repairs, the district administration has just filled the potholes with broken pieces of bricks, breaks further and disappears under the weight of heavy lorries, once again leaving the road with potholes and ditches.

The blockade led to a significant traffic jam with vehicles stranded on both sides of the highway.
The residents have threatened to continue the blockade indefinitely if the highway is not fixed immediately. The protest comes ahead of the 3-tier Panchayat polls to be held on August 8.
This blockade comes close on the heels of residents of villages along the Imphal-Andro road in Manipur holding a similar road blockade demanding fixing of the bad Imphal-Andro road.

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