Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has formally requested the construction of a bypass road around Rairakhol town in Odisha to address severe traffic congestion on National Highway-55. In a letter written on Tuesday to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Pradhan highlighted the urgent need for the project to ensure public safety and smoother traffic flow.
Public Appeal Spurs Ministerial Action
The initiative stems from a strong representation made by the residents of Rairakhol in Sambalpur district. The appeal received widespread support from key local bodies, including the district's bar association, truck owners' association, senior citizens' forum, and local journalists. Acting on this collective plea, Pradhan, who is the elected MP from Sambalpur, took up the matter with the central ministry.
In his communication, Pradhan detailed the critical situation. He stated that NH-55, one of the busiest national highways in the region, cuts directly through the rapidly growing town of Rairakhol. The narrow streets of the town are currently forced to handle hundreds of heavy vehicles daily, leading to extreme congestion.
Growth and Gridlock: A Dangerous Mix
The minister underscored that Rairakhol's ongoing infrastructural development, which includes an upcoming government hospital, new offices, and colleges, is attracting more people. This increase in daily movement during office hours directly clashes with the constant stream of heavy highway traffic.
"Plying of heavy vehicles through the narrow town roads, which are not designed to handle highway-level traffic, resulted in frequent severe congestion, thus increasing the risk of road accidents and avoidable inconvenience to people," Pradhan stated in the letter. He emphasized that a bypass road would bring great relief to both the town's residents and the users of the highway.
The Strategic Importance of NH-55 and Rairakhol
NH-55, also known as the Cuttack-Sambalpur highway, is a major arterial route in Odisha. While work to widen most sections of the highway is nearing completion, the stretch passing through Rairakhol town remains a bottleneck. Locals explain that Rairakhol acts as a crucial confluence point for traffic from nearby districts like Boudh, Sonepur, Sambalpur, and Balangir, making its roads exceptionally busy.
Welcoming the minister's intervention, local resident Trinath Acharya highlighted the town's strategic location. The proposed bypass is seen as a vital infrastructure solution to separate local civic life from through-traffic, thereby enhancing road safety and reducing travel time.
In his concluding appeal, Dharmendra Pradhan requested Nitin Gadkari's personal intervention to instruct the concerned authorities to take up the construction of the Rairakhol bypass road in the larger public interest.
