Port Blair, Feb 15: The Member of Parliament, Shri. Kuldeep Rai Sharma has requested the Minister of Road Transport & Highways, New Delhi to direct the NHIDCL to complete the ATR upgradation work before May 2022, which will bring a huge relief for the public of these Islands.

In his letter addressed to the Minister of Road Transport & Highways, the Member of Parliament mentioned that the Andaman Trunk Road (NH4) upgradation works began in Andaman & Nicobar Islands to transform the mode of road transport. Its nearly five years now and the islanders have suffered heavily due to delay in starting of works, problems in executing the works and due to poor quality of works carried out by NHIDCL contractors.

He said that the people of North & Middle Andaman have suffered the maximum burns because of such delay.

The Member of Parliament mentioned that many accidents have also taken place in ATR in the last five years due to bad roads and vehicles have been damaged in each journey on the ATR.

Presently the Andaman Trunk Road stretch between Mayabunder and Diglipur, specially Kalara Junction to Sita Nagar is in the worst because of which it takes nearly three long hours to reach Mayabunder from Diglipur and vice versa. If the road is good this journey takes only one hour.

He pointed out that by the third or fourth week of May 2022 Andaman & Nicobar Islands will receive Monsoon and if this road construction work is not completed before Monsoon 2022, people will have to suffer for one more year.

The MP thus requested the Minister to direct the NHIDCL to complete the ATR upgradation work before May 2022, which will bring a huge relief for the public of these Islands.