Breath analysers to be used for random checking on Samruddhi Expressway: Maharashtra minister

Samruddhi Expressway. File Pic

Maharashtra minister Dada Bhuse on Thursday said in the state assembly that breath analysers will be used for random checking of drivers of heavy and public transport vehicles on the Samruddhi Expressway, reported the PTI.

The 'Samruddhi Mahamarg', named Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, is a 701-km-long expressway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur.

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The Samruddhi Mahamarg passes through 10 districts: Nagpur, Washim, Wardha, Ahmednagar, Buldhana, Aurangabad, Amravati, Jalna, Nashik and Thane.

The construction of a 600-km long stretch is completed and opened for traffic, while the work of remaining 101 km-long stretch between Nashik and Thane is in progress.

During a debate in the legislative assembly on the rising number of accidents on the expressway, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said 110 people have died in accidents since the Samruddhi Expressway was opened for the public (in December last year).

Replying to the debate, Bhuse, the minister of public works (public undertakings), said breath analysers will be used for random checking of drivers of heavy and public transport vehicles on the expressway.

The speed limit for light vehicles is 120 km per hour and for heavy vehicles is 80 km per hour, he said.

There will be strict surveillance to check lane-cutting, he said, adding that hoardings and boards will be put up to create awareness about the traffic rules.

Meanwhile, the Opposition parties have blamed the government for the collapse of the girder and its launcher on the under-construction third leg of the Samruddhi Mahamarg in Shahapur. They have demanded that the road's two working legs be shut for traffic until all precautions and arrangements are put in place, to prevent further accidental deaths.

The matter came up in the Assembly on Wednesday when the Congress members approached the Speaker to get the day's scheduled business replaced with their proposal to discuss the accident that claimed 20 lives on Monday.

Nana Patole, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, held the government responsible, alleging the contractors were instructed to expedite work that actually needed more time to finish to perfection. "It has become a death road instead of a way to prosperity," he said, referring to the vehicular accidents that have taken place on the expressway since last December.

(with PTI inputs)