Mussoorie-Tehri Bypass becomes dumping ground for garbage mafia

my uttarakhand news Bureau
Mussoorie, 9 Jan: The Mussoorie-Tehri bypass is becoming an illegal dumping ground for the garbage mafia these days. The parapets along the road are being deliberately damaged, and large quantities of debris are being dumped into the forest area using dumpers and jeeps. This is not only causing significant damage to valuable forest resources but is also endangering the lives of people traveling on the road. Local residents say that the Mussoorie-Tehri bypass is a very important and busy route, but due to broken or missing parapets in several places, deep potholes and dangerous black spots have formed. Taking advantage of these locations, the mafia is fearlessly dumping debris into the forest area. The situation is such that a major accident could happen at any time.The most worrying aspect is that neither the police, nor the forest department, nor the National Highways Authority officials seem to be taking effective action in the entire matter. Local people allege that despite repeated complaints, the responsible departments are turning a blind eye. People say that it seems the administration is waiting for a major accident or loss of life.
On this entire matter, the local administration has said that the matter will be taken cognizance of soon. The administration claims that strict action will be taken against anyone who is damaging forest resources or illegally dumping debris.National Highway Assistant Engineer Amit Kashyap said that parapets were installed in several sections along the Tehri bypass road earlier, and some sections are still left where parapets need to be installed. An estimate for installing parapets was sent earlier, but it could not be approved. Now, a proposal for installing railings and parapets has been sent under the Performance Based Maintenance Contract (PBMC). As soon as the proposal is approved, the work on installing the parapets will begin immediately. He also stated that correspondence has been initiated with the police regarding those who are dumping debris on the road and roadside, and they have been urged to take strict action.
Currently, due to the arbitrary actions of the mafia, broken safety railings, and administrative negligence, the Mussoorie-Tehri bypass road is becoming a hotspot for accidents. If concrete steps are not taken in time, this negligence could lead to a major tragedy.