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Days after 14 people lost their lives in the massive inferno caused by an LPG tanker blast in Jaipur, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has submitted its preliminary report to the government following an initial probe into the incident.
The NHAI, in its report, suggested that the absence of a cloverleaf road on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway where the accident took place, may have played a big part in the blast which occurred on December 20.
It said that with the consent of the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) and the police, a small passage was thrown open for heavy vehicles to take a U-turn as there is no cloverleaf road on the stretch for unhindered movement.
A cloverleaf road is a type of road junction that allows traffic to flow smoothly between two or more roads without crossing or making left turns. Its design is shaped like a cloverleaf and features underpasses, flyovers and loop jumps.
Also, national highways do not usually have passages to enable U-turns without any intersections as it poses great risk to vehicles passing at high speeds.
“After the approval from the Joint Committee of JDA and traffic police, the passage was opened and traffic was diverted. The passage is up to 30 meters wide, but still, when big vehicles attempt a turn, the width of the road proves inadequate. In view of this, we have increased the width of the road on both sides of the passage from six lanes to 10 lanes, so that the vehicular movement is not affected when heavy vehicles take a turn,” Ajay Arya, Project Director of NHAI, said.
The NHAI further added that the purpose of the passage which has been opened on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway is to divert the heavy traffic coming from Ajmer to Jaipur to the ring road.
“This passage has been opened because there is no cloverleaf on the ring road right now. We have instructed the firm which has been given the contract for cloverleaf road to complete this work quickly and on priority,” Arora added.
The Rajasthan High Court has sought an answer from the Rajasthan government as to why the construction of a cloverleaf road has been put to halt and also asked it to fix responsibility for the incident.
On the other hand, the state government has decided to deploy police personnel 24 hours a day near the passage where the accident took place, as suggested by the NHAI in its report.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety has directed the Rajasthan Chief Secretary to submit a detailed report on the incident. A high-level committee has been constituted to thoroughly investigate all aspects of the accident, including an in-depth examination of the road’s construction, if applicable.
On Friday, an LPG tanker collided with a truck on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway, igniting a massive fire that engulfed the area in an inferno, with at least 37 vehicles going up in flames. At least 14 people were killed due to the blast and over 30 others were seriously injured.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 10, 2025.
