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Title: Need for four laning of National Highway No. 215 stretching from Panikoili to Rajamunda in Orissa.
SHRI ANANTA NAYAK (KEONJHAR): The State road from Panikoili to Rajamunda was accorded sanction in June 1998 as a national highway. Since then no significant steps have been taken to upgrade that road in my Constituency as a National Highway despite the fact that the people of several parts of the State depend on that road for transporting minerals. Everyday 11 thousand trucks ply on that road carrying iron ore, manganese from the hinterland to Paradip Port for export purposes. As the road has been declared as a National Highway the State Government is not taking any step for its maintenance. As a result of that the movement of traffic has become very difficult.
Unless the Highway is made four lane the congestion of traffic cannot be reduced. The plight of the users of that National Highway will further increase since that is the only direct route to connect Cuttack, the commercial capital and Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The proposal to make the National Highway four lane has been pending since long.
In view of that, I demand that the National Highway No. 215 be upgraded to four lane and the entire work be completed by the end of Tenth Plan. The fund may be adequately allocated for that National Highway without any further delay.