Eight blind bends, not one street light on 21 km of Haldwani-Rudrapur Tanda road: no network, no SOS boxes; Bridkul and PWD both deny responsibility

The roughly 21 km stretch of state highway on the Tanda road towards Rudrapur from Haldwani, from the forest check post on Rampur Road to the Pantnagar bypass, has eight blind bends and not one street light. An Amar Ujala team inspected the route on Tuesday. It says radium light poles are broken or buried in bushes at many places, and that low branches mean an oncoming vehicle is seen late at the bends. A stretch of about 25 km is described as a no-network zone, with no emergency landline or SOS box; during the inspection a call to Dial 112 connected only on the fourth attempt. Gravel was found spread on the road after patchwork. Along the whole route, the team saw a transport department interceptor at one place and no police. Bridkul's project manager said the road has been handed over to the PWD; the PWD's executive engineer said it has not yet been handed over. Kumaon Commissioner Deepak Rawat said the work is still with Bridkul, that safety arrangements will be strengthened soon, and that a proposal will be made to start one or two police outposts.