By: Arvind Jadhav
Satara: The Karad-Chiplun National Highway was disrupted for several days due to the poor management of the ‘All Grace’ highway contractor during heavy rains, causing inconvenience to lakhs of passengers and loss crores of rupees to the state transport corporation. Despite this, the Karad RTO seems to be favouring the contractor, giving open permission for their overloaded vehicles to ply on the damaged bridge.
Recently, during the bridge damaged situation while other heavy vehicles are prohibited from entering the highway due to bridge conditions, the contractor’s vehicles are still getting a green signal. The contractor is reportedly making over a hundred heavy trips daily, raising serious concerns about potential risks. The inactivity of the Karad RTO has sparked speculation about its financial links with the NH contractor.
A recent “road blockade’ protest warned of possible accidents and held the National Highways Authority of India responsible. The Karad RTO’s biased policy can jeopardize traffic regulation and bridge safety. If the temporarily repaired bridge is closed again due to an overloaded vehicle, the Karad RTO office will be held responsible.
Immediate action is needed to address public allegations and strictly follow bridge safety protocols. The Satara district administration must break the alleged oily nexus between the RTO office and NH contractor to restore passenger and citizens confidence and ensure road safety.
