The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has sanctioned Rs 410 crore for constructing a new four-lane greenfield bypass road to decongest the existing National Highway-14 (old NH-60) passing through Raniganj, the oldest coal town in the country.

The lifeline of Raniganj town was the erstwhile Netaji Subhas Bose Road (NSB Road), which was renamed as NH-60 during the year 2000.

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Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently announced that the NHAI will construct a 6-km stretch between the Sahibganj Mor and the Mangolpur Mor under the Bharatmala Pariyojana.

NHAI sources said that the construction work will start in April. At a high-level meeting, former Chief Secretary Hari Krishna Diwedi instructed officials to expedite the land acquisition process in their respective districts for the new highways, expressways, and NHAI’s expansion works in the state.

The people of Raniganj had been pressing for the construction of a new bypass road for long since the existing bypass road extending up to Bansra Mor was not adequate to decongest the traffic.

Sandeep Bhalotia, former president of Raniganj Chamber of Commerce and a local refractory owner and industrialist, said that the proposed new 6-km stretch will prove to be a game changer in the region.

NH-14 originates from its junction with NH-12 (old NH-34) near Morgram and connects Rampur Hat, Siuri, Raniganj, Bankura, Garhbeta, and Salbani. It terminates at its junction with NH-16 (old NH 2) near Kharagpur in the state.

The entire stretch is a two-lane road with a paved shoulder configuration. This corridor is acting as one of the prime corridors for the traffic plying from south Indian states and Odisha towards North Bengal and northeastern states, Bhalotia said.

The NH-14 connects many important industrial, religious, and agricultural areas like Kharagpur, Midnapore, Chandrakona Road, Garbeta, Bishnupur, Bankura, Raniganj, Pandabeswar, Dubrajpur, Suri, Rampurhat, and Nalhati, etc.

“Thousands of people come from districts like Bankura, Purulia, and adjoining districts of Jharkhand to catch flights from the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Andal. Once this four-lane wide bypass road is constructed by the NHAI, the traffic will move fast. Currently, the NH-14 is too congested and we face huge traffic jams throughout the day,” Bhalotia added.

Raniganj, the oldest coal town in India, is more than 250 years old. The grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore, Prince Dwarakanath Tagore, used to run a coal mine through his company Carr Tagore and Company. His office-cum-bungalow beside the Damodar River in Raniganj is a heritage site now.