Several months have passed since a saint Mahant Bhagwan Dass and his disciple were killed in a road accident on the National Highway near Patanjali Yogpeeth. However, the condition of the highway remains as deplorable as it was when the mishap happened.  Even a brief spell of shower   fills the mud pools which poses grave risk for the commuters.

The Delhi-Dehradun National Highway was repaired just four months ago, but the showers of the rainy season have washed away the patching works done, making things as precarious as ever. The stretch from Prem Nagar Ashram crossing to Shankaracharya Chowk remains riddled with gaping potholes-ideal setting for accidents to happen. A resident of Jagjeetpur, Dr Sanjay Shah said, “Never is the condition of the highway worse than what it is now. The vehicles swerve dangerously to avoid the puddles gaping from the middle of the highway. This involves a grave risk for the commuters. "

Notably, after two city-based saints were killed in a road mishap on the National Highway, the religious fraternity had registered case, holding the officials of the National Highway Authority of India responsible.

Going a step further, the traders’ body had held the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari responsible for the death of the two saints and demanded the Union Minister's resignation.

Speaking to The Pioneer, district president of Haridwar Vyapar Mandal Sunil Sethi said on Tuesday that they would take to the streets from Thursday, demanding speedy completion of the ongoing NH broadening work. “We are fed up with the Ministers and MPs. They do nothing save dishing out statements. We again demand that the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari must resign, taking moral responsibility of the series of deaths happening on the stretch of the National Highway,” he said.

He, further, said that Gadkari could hardly escape responsibility as he had given  the NH broadening contract to a black listed company. “Things are, thus, going on at a snail’s pace and the company and the Minister are sleeping as the number of casualties mounts,” he said. He urged the religious fraternity to raise the same demand of the resignation of the Union Minister.

The secretary of Sri Panchayati Niranjani Akhada Mahant Ravindra Puri said that the particular stretch of the National Highway has indeed turned into a death trap for the commuters. “The construction work has been going on for the past eight years since the 2010 Kumbh Mela. Many people have perished in the interim. The commuters’ life is at grave risk. More will die unless the Centre steps in and makes things promptly completed,” he added.