NATIONAL HIGHWAY CAMPAIGN ON NH 34//12 UNDER CHAKDAH, RANAGHAT, SHANTIPUR & KRISHNANAGAR(UPTO ITLA MORE)


It was 08.04.2019 since we visited National Highway 34 (now NH 12) under the jurisdiction of these particular Police Stations. Our visit on this day was mainly planned for thorough campaigning, particularly at those accidents prone areas, which we have marked on our earlier visits. But after reaching here, we found that the road widening procedure is going on, in this entire 40KM stretch of the highway. Basically, the road network of any state is its lifeline and the evaluation of their performance is very necessary for future traffic operation. Traffic congestion is the common problem in most of the crossings of NH-34. Road widening is one of the actions that can be used as the solution. According to the National Highway Authority of India the objective of this road widening procedure in the South Bengal part of NH-34 is to improve the performance operation of the rural road network. Due to the road widening work, the demolition procedure of small roadside shops and unlicensed dhabas were going on in this stretch of the highway due to which it was hard to find a large number of public gathering here. So, we mainly focused on displaying our “Banner” and “Posters” on the Guard Rails of WBP in each and every major and minor crossing, distributed our leaflets containing Accident Helpline Number to the local people. We started our campaign from Chakdah Chowmatha More which is the main crossing to enter Chakdah town from the highway. Gradually, we moved through ‘Polagacha More’, Gourpara Turning, ‘Baganbari Gram More’, Titla Bus Stop and Mahanala Bus Stop under Chakdah PS. Next we entered the jurisdiction of Ranaghat PS at ‘Gangnapur Bot Gachtola’. Here, we thoroughly campaigned at all the ten main identified spots. Wherever we found mass gatherings, we campaigned and distributed our helpline numbers. Some of them recognized us and appreciated our project. As per the local people, in most of the cases, the victims are rescued in local vehicles or in police patrolling van. We explained them the necessity of ambulance to carry the accident victims to the hospital. They assured to call us for ambulance in future for accident cases. At Aichtola More and Mission Rail Gate More we went to St. Marry English Medium School and St. Joseph School (which are situated just beside the highway) & met the HR Officers with the proposal of organizing CPR & BLS training program for the students and school bus drivers. They showed interest but requested us to contact him in month of February because till January, they would be busy with Annual sports event, Annual Programs and fresh admission procedures. Further, we moved ahead and entered Shantipur PS area and campaigned thoroughly at thirteen important spots. We focused mainly on displaying our visit material at these places, since; it was hard to find local people in the crossings due to the demolition work. But wherever we found gatherings we distributed our leaflets containing our help line numbers. Here at Fulia Krittibas gate we also observed agitation between the local small shop owners and administration due to the ongoing demolition work for the expansion of the highway. Under Krishnanagar PS jurisdiction, we campaigned from Dignagar More to Itla More, a stretch of 4 KM on NH – 34. We thoroughly campaigned in this area discussing about our project among the common people, distributed leaflets and tied the banners in every crossing. Every single person we met in this area responded in a positive attitude. After campaigning at ‘Itla More Bus stop’ under Krishnanagar PS, we called it a day. Since, it was our sixth public campaign since we launched HRP on NH- 34 in this area, in the year 2017. We tried to make each and every people aware about our project. Most of the people we met, assured to call us from now on, whenever they come to know about any accident on the highway. We have placed our banners and posters at every important point, and pasted our Sun board in all the petrol pumps in this stretch of 40 KM of our campaign.