Ghaziabad: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), acting on Supreme Court orders to shut illegal accesses along NH-9 and Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME), has run into resistance from residents who removed barriers installed to block such cuts.NHAI had identified 110 unauthorised accesses along the roughly 20-km stretch of the NH-9 and DME from UP Gate to Dasna, and closed at least four at Aditya World City, Wave City and Aradhyam with jersey barriers placed on the intervening night of Sunday. By Monday morning, residents had removed the barriers to let vehicles through, the official said.Officials said NHAI has flagged the violations to the district administration and traffic police, and that FIRs would be filed against those responsible.Pravin Kumar, a resident of Wave City, said the township’s proximity to NH-9 and DME had been a key selling point when developers marketed the flats, and that residents invested in the project for this access. With the exit suddenly closed and no alternative route provided, residents had no option but to remove the barriers themselves, he said, adding that NHAI should have planned for this before acting.Kiran Rai, another resident, said nearly 15,000 people live across the two townships, and closing the exit had left them effectively cut off, with residents, office-goers, students and school buses all dependent on the same access point.The NHAI official said the closures were not without reason, and that residents with grievances should approach the authority to resolve them rather than removing the barricades, which was unacceptable.The Supreme Court’s April 13 order came in a suo motu case triggered by the deaths of 34 people in successive highway accidents. The court noted that national highways make up about 2% of India’s total road length but account for nearly 30% of road fatalities.NHAI has issued notices to encroachers under Section 26 of the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002, and demolition drives have already begun against those who have not complied. A survey conducted in line with the court’s order found 110 unauthorised accesses on the right side of the NH9/DME stretch and 48 on the left in Ghaziabad, created by shops, showrooms, petrol pumps, hotels and colleges, among other establishments.
