Trinath & Ganesh
Baratang, June 07: The temporary disruption of traffic on the Andaman Trunk Road (NH-4) near Baratang on Friday has once again highlighted the recurring hardships faced by thousands of commuters every year, who depend on the highway.
Heavy rainfall submerged a bridge near the Forest Nursery area, bringing traffic to a standstill for several hours. Long queues of vehicles formed on both sides of the road from around 10 a.m., leaving passengers stranded and causing significant inconvenience.
According to Andaman Sheekha correspondent Trinath from Middle Andaman and Ganeshan from Baratang, women, children, senior citizens and patients were among those forced to endure hours of uncertainty while waiting for the water level to recede.
Residents say the situation is far from new. The bridge reportedly gets submerged several times almost every monsoon season, causing repeated disruptions to movement between North, Middle and South Andaman. Although construction of an alternate bridge is currently underway by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), commuters remain concerned about how long they will have to continue facing the same problem.
The incident has also revived questions about the pace of infrastructure development on NH-4. Nearly nine years have passed since major highway improvement works began, yet many critical stretches continue to remain vulnerable to weather-related disruptions. With no clear timeline on when the alternate bridge will be completed, travelers fear that annual traffic chaos may continue for years to come.
Friday’s disruption not only caused inconvenience to countless passengers but also underscored the urgent need for a permanent solution to one of the most persistent bottlenecks on the islands’ lifeline highway.
