PATNA: The

on Friday made strong verbal observations as to why there was tremendous difference between roads leading to

and

from state capital.

A division bench of Justice Jyoti Sharan and Justice Ashutosh Kumar was hearing a PIL filed by Gaurav Kumar Singh when it made the verbal remarks that while road to Nalanda was such that one can reach there in around two hours, one needs at least eight hours to reach Gaya when difference of distance to both places from the state capital is hardly of 20 kilometre. Incidentally, Nalanda is home district of CM Nitish Kumar.

The PIL was for overall infrastructural development of Gaya which included proper handling of waste emission, stopping dumping debris including municipal waste and drainage water in river which is adversely affecting water quality and level in city, construction of sewerage treatment plan (STP) for reducing high nitrate content in water. The petitioner was represented by counsel Sumit Kumar Singh.

Justice Saran, while hearing issues raised in PIL, rapped the state government sharing his experience of travelling to Patna from Dhanbad via Gaya. Justice Sharan remarked that it took around three hours for travelling more than 200kms to reach Gaya while after that it took eight hours to reach Patna.

“Look at Patna-Gaya road and Patna-Nalanda road. Why there is such a difference when all your foreign tourists come to Gaya which had all the heritage? This is a hopeless condition of road construction department (RCD). The lost glory of the city must be restored,” Justice Sharan remarked.

“Ninety per cent of the senior citizens, if not wearing seat belt, travel on stretch of Patna–Gaya road; they will develop cervical problem,” he remarked.

Additional advocate general Anjani Kumar attempted to convince the court that situation was not such and a lot of development works were going on for Gaya.

However, dissatisfied, court directed to make RCD and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) respondents in the matter with direction to file detailed counter affidavits before May 13 that what projects and development works were going on for improving road connectivity of Gaya to Patna via Jehanabad.

Dealing other aspects, the court also directed water resource department (WRD) to finalise a consultant and submit detailed project report for construction of weir on river Falgu near Vishnupad temple in Gaya for visitors for storing water round the year. WRD will also have to submit affidavit along with RCD and NHAI for next hearing on May 13.

WRD, in counter affidavit had submitted that not dam, but weir on Falgu was feasible and had sought three months’ time for finalising consultant followed by additional six months’ time for submitting DPR.