Mevani to PM Modi: Try a Roadshow on Rajkot-Jetpur Route

Rajkot, Gujarat – Congress workers and traders led by Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani organised a mammoth rally of more than half a kilometer in Rajkot under the banner of ‘Janhit Highway Haq Andolan Samiti’ against the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for delaying the work of the 67-kilometer of the Rajkot-Jetput six-lane highway at the cost of Rs 1204 crore. 

The Collector’s office was surrounded by the Janhit Highway Hakk Andolan Samiti led by Congress’s Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani to voice the problems faced by more than 2.5 lakh commuters using the Rajkot-Jetpur highway. 

Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani tweeted, “It is a request to the Prime Minister that please plan a Roadshow on the Rajkot Jetpur Highway! Till you will not visit, NHAI officials will not wake up from their slumber. Rajkot-Jetpur six-lane highway has claimed many lives. What is the fault of the people of Rajkot who voted for BJP so far?”

https://x.com/jigneshmevani80/status/1942453811257221428

With bandages tied around their hands and heads, the Congress workers reached the Rajkot district collector’s office after holding a mammoth rally with slogans like ‘BJP government is a thief’ and ‘No road, no toll’. A poster of Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari was shown, in which Gadda-Kari was written instead of Gadkari. 

The work of 67 kilometers of the Rajkot-Jetpur six-lane highway at a cost of Rs. 1204 crore has been going on for the last 20 months, due to which more than two and a half lakh people commuting from Saurashtra including Rajkot to Jetpur are facing problems. The work of this road was started in September 2022 and the entire work of the 67 km road was to be completed in two years, i.e. in September 2025, instead of which only 20 km has been worked on. Instead of completing the work on time, the NHAI administration has extended the deadline to June 2026. Currently, due to the rains, potholes and big craters have formed on the Rajkot-Jetpur highway, causing heavy traffic jams. Along with this, accidents are also increasing due to the dilapidated road.

Rajkot District Collector Dr. Om Prakash said that the six-lane work of Rajkot-Jetpur Highway is going on, regarding which some questions have come to the fore. The NHAI officials and the SP have spoken in this regard. Currently, work on 18 bridges is going on and 14 diversions have been given. There are frequent traffic jam issues, due to which 12 cranes have been placed there. In which 2 cranes have been placed on the toll plaza. Currently, one bridge has been started and if a dry spell of 48 hours is achieved, i.e., if there is no rain, three new bridges can be opened. These include Jamwadi to Virpur, Gomta Phatak and Virpur bypass.

Traffic jams occur near the toll plaza near Sadak Pipliya, where 16 traffic marshals will be posted in three shifts. The most important thing is that when traffic jams start, they are aware and then arrangements have been made to clear the traffic quickly with the help of traffic marshals, police and cranes. Apart from this, if vehicles are moving very slowly due to potholes on the road, then repair work is being done there. When asked about the demand that toll should not be collected, he said that talks will be held with the officials of the National Highways Authority of India in this regard.

Jignesh Mevani said that two and a half lakh vehicle drivers who use the Rajkot-Jetpur six-lane highway every day have to face difficulties, especially when ambulances get stuck in it, patients are hanging between life and death and many have also died. At this time, all we can say to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is that if he organizes a road show between Rajkot and Jetpur, the work on this highway will be done immediately. 

“We surrounded the collector’s office with the demand that if there is no road, then there will be no toll” said Mevani. “Even after 150 crores of recovery on the toll plaza, the National Highway Authority is still not moving when it comes to providing safe roads for the commuters.”