Hardia, Bihar: In a village in North Bihar, ducks wading through water are a common sight. But on the crucial National Highway 28A, close to the Hardia village, the ducks are doing so in the middle of the road.
The road which leads to the key border town of Raxaul, which shares its boundaries with Nepal, is so riddled with potholes it has practically become a pond at many places.
Puncture shops on this road are frequent pit stops for 60-year-old Ravinder Tiwari, who has driven his truck over it for more than a decade. Hundreds of trucks ferrying supplies to Nepal and buses and cars use this road every day.
"This road has been hellish for as long as I remember it. Maybe it won't see better days in my lifetime," says Mr Tiwari.
Locals residents say a few years ago, the Central government decided to convert the single lane road into a two-lane one. The private contractor assigned left work just after starting, they say.
Then, after the Nepal earthquake in April, Central ministers who came to the area to supervise relief operations said the work to repair the road would start on a war-footing.
But nothing happened, the residents allege. Work will start soon, the government officials maintain.
"Modi doesn't come here but his ministers and officers do. Why make false promises? All these politicians are responsible. Say someone falls ill in my family, how do I take the person to hospital? They will die on this road," laments Umesh Kumar, whose house is right next to the road.
Good roads, along with a schools, colleges and bridges are part of the promises made by both sides in the Bihar elections that start in less than two weeks. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar faces a tough challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is expected to hold his fifth election rally in the state today.
The road which leads to the key border town of Raxaul, which shares its boundaries with Nepal, is so riddled with potholes it has practically become a pond at many places.
Puncture shops on this road are frequent pit stops for 60-year-old Ravinder Tiwari, who has driven his truck over it for more than a decade. Hundreds of trucks ferrying supplies to Nepal and buses and cars use this road every day.
Locals residents say a few years ago, the Central government decided to convert the single lane road into a two-lane one. The private contractor assigned left work just after starting, they say.
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But nothing happened, the residents allege. Work will start soon, the government officials maintain.
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Good roads, along with a schools, colleges and bridges are part of the promises made by both sides in the Bihar elections that start in less than two weeks. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar faces a tough challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is expected to hold his fifth election rally in the state today.
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