A senior official from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said the road situation was grim in the state.
“Almost all highways have been affected by the floods. Thirty kilometres of NH-57, which is a crucial link along the Indo-Nepal border between Forbesganj and Purnea, is inundated. Aerial surveys have been attempted but repair work cannot start as the water is flowing at considerable velocity,” said the official.
“While floods do happen in Bihar every year, this time it was shocking because the Kosi, for the first time, changed its course to the eastern side. We had recently widened an 80-km stretch on NH-57 to four lane, but now there is considerable damage to approximately 30 km of the road,” NHAI engineer Vijay Shankar, holding fort at his Araria office, told The Indian Express.
The ambitious East-West Corridor project on NH-57 set to connect Gujarat and Assam will be delayed due to the floods. The October 2008 deadline may now be pushed back to well beyond March 2009.
Flood loss
•346 km of NH-106, 107, 30 A, 57 damaged
• 600 km of state highway, major district roads
• 1900 km may require re-construction
• 136 km on NH 106, 100 km on NH 107, 30 km on NH-30A, 30 km on NH-57 among others are badly hit
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