Cuttack: Jeypore-based advocate and human rights activist Anup Kumar Patro has sought urgent intervention to address alleged threats to human life due to poor road infrastructure in south Odisha and urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to direct the Centre to upgrade three key national highways to four-lane divided carriageways and fast-track long-pending bypass projects.In his reply to the Koraput district collector’s report on highway development, submitted on Oct 28, Patro described it as “fundamentally deficient, mechanical, and non-responsive” to the human rights violations raised in his complaint.NHRC had sought his response on Oct 6 after receiving the report on ongoing and proposed highway projects in Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri districts in response to Patro’s complaint alleging a “systemic violation” of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution due to severely inadequate highway infrastructure and inaction by state and central authorities.Pointing to the region’s difficult terrain and limited transport alternatives, Patro replied about the undivided Koraput district now comprises four districts with a substantial tribal population.Dependence on narrow roads, he argued, jeopardises public safety and delays emergency patients’ access to tertiary healthcare facilities, including Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital in Koraput and specialised hospitals in Visakhapatnam.In his reply, Patro sought a comprehensive highway upgrade package covering NH-26, NH-326 and NH-201. He called for four-laning of NH-26 from Deoghati through Sunki Ghat to the Andhra Pradesh border, with tunnel bypasses and improved gradients, besides upgrading Motu-Malkangiri-Jeypore-Koraput-Rayagada corridor and Borigumma-Nabarangpur-Bhawanipatna route.He also flagged delays in bypass construction, stating that Jeypore and Borigumma bypasses had achieved 90% land acquisition, while the Koraput town bypass remained at an early procedural stage. He urged the commission to require time-bound affidavits specifying firm commissioning dates and accountability mechanisms for these projects and proposed bypasses at Nabarangpur, Malkangiri and Boipariguda.Raising concerns over bridge safety, Patro sought immediate structural audits of Indravati and Kolab river bridges and canal bridges at Gandhi Chowk, Telliguda and Jayantgiri, alleging cracking and exposed reinforcement bars.He further requested NHRC to obtain reports directly from collectors of Rayagada, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri and establish an independent monitoring committee to submit quarterly progress reports until the projects are completed.
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