NH-63 to be upgraded to four lanes

 Nizamabad: National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has proposed to convert the two-lane NH-63 from Nizamabad to Jagtial to four lanes soon. The national highway starts from Nizamabad and ends at Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh. The officials are planning to acquire land for the widening and bypass roads en route.

The Centre has allotted Rs 2,529 crore for widening of the 131.8-km highway stretch from Armoor to Mancherial via Jagtial. Earlier, the upgradation was proposed to be done in the existing route, but the villages en route objected to the demolition of their houses and commercial buildings. As a result, officials proposed bypass roads at Padigel, Anksapur, Kukunoor, Morthad and Kammarpally villages in Nizamabad district.

Earlier, it was proposed to acquire 72.2671 hectares of land in the district, but after the proposal of bypass roads, the land acquisition has increased to 83.895 hectares. Revenue officials are preparing the notification for the same.

However, farmers are worried about the acquisition of their lands. Earlier, farmers of Balkonda, Velpur, Morthad and Kammarpally mandals lost their lands to the flood flow canal of Sri Ram Sagar Project and the Peddapalli-Nizamabad railway line. The proposed road widening is to reduce accidents on the Nizamabad-Jagtial stretch.

It is recalled that during the peak Left Wing Extremist (LWE) movement, the government proposed the laying of the national highway from Nizamabad to Jagdalpur in the early 1990s. The road works were delayed for decades as Jagdalpur was not connected. The construction of a bridge across river Pranahita would connect Telangana, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh states. It will also reduce the distance between Nizamabad and Visakhapatnam if NH-63 works are completed.