Port Blair, Oct 3: What was meant to be the lifeline of the Andaman Islands has turned into a spine-shaking ordeal for commuters. The National Highway-4 (NH-4), connecting Baratang to Diglipur, is today described by residents as a “nightmare” — a testimony, they say, to the lackadaisical attitude of the NHIDCL (National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited) that has failed to deliver a road fit for use despite eight long years of construction.
Raising the issue in a strongly worded letter to the Lt. Governor, G Bhasker, Chairman of the Campaign Committee of the Andaman & Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee (ANTCC), accused the NHIDCL of “betraying the people of the Islands” by dragging the project since 2017 and allowing the completed stretches to fall into disrepair. “The road, once maintained better by the APWD, has now turned into a hazard. It’s not merely negligence — it’s a fraud on the people of these Islands,” Bhasker said after a gruelling three-day journey from Port Blair to Diglipur.
Bhasker highlighted the shocking lack of progress in the NH-4 road works, which have been ongoing since 2017 under the supervision of NHIDCL. Despite repeated appeals, the highway remains largely incomplete, with several stretches in advanced stages of decay, endangering the lives of residents and travellers. “The road, once maintained better by the APWD, has now turned into a hazard,” Bhasker stated following a recent 3-day journey from Port Blair to Diglipur.
Bhasker emphasized that despite repeated requests and follow-ups, the work on NH-4 under the NHIDCL remains incomplete. He stated that the agency has consistently failed to meet deadlines and shifted milestones without delivering meaningful progress.nAccording to him, many stretches remain either unfinished or have deteriorated significantly, making travel dangerous and unreliable. Portions of the road, particularly between Baratang and Rangat and from Billiground to Mayabunder, are yet to be completed, while even the completed stretches between Mayabunder and Diglipur have suffered damage, with only minimal sections remaining usable.
Bhasker called this a clear case of fraud on the people of the Islands and demanded a CBI investigation to identify those responsible for what he described as a large-scale misuse of public funds. He expressed grave concern over the impact of the highway’s condition on the everyday lives of residents in Middle and North Andaman. The deteriorated road has disrupted the daily routine of people living along the route, forced hotel owners into financial crisis due to the absence of tourists, and rendered auto drivers and transport operators jobless.
According to locals, frequent breakdowns and slow traffic have made travel both dangerous and unpredictable, while rising vehicle repair costs have added to their burden. Bhasker’s letter highlighted that the crumbling highway has brought cascading economic distress: While the Hoteliers complain of dwindling bookings as tourists avoid the grueling road journey, Auto drivers, bus operators, and truckers face falling incomes due to high maintenance costs and fewer passengers.
Transportation costs have inflated the price of essentials in northern islands.
Ambulances often struggle to reach hospitals in time, jeopardizing critical patients, including pregnant women.
“The highway’s neglect is not just an infrastructure failure — it’s a humanitarian crisis,” Bhasker warned, calling for a CBI probe into what he alleges to be a “large-scale misuse of public funds.”
Bhasker urged the Lt. Governor to personally intervene, hold the NHIDCL accountable for years of delays and poor workmanship, and blacklist the agency from future projects in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Residents across Middle and North Andaman echo his frustration, questioning why an arterial road that once served reliably under the local Public Works Department has deteriorated so drastically under a specialized national agency.
For thousands of islanders who depend on NH-4 for access to markets, medical care, and livelihoods, the highway’s collapse is more than a matter of potholes — it’s a daily reminder of promises unfulfilled.
