Real-Life Subway Surfers: Trees Stand Tall On This Indian Highway!

Imagine riding your motorcycle through a newly constructed road. You are doing a decent speed, when you suddenly see a row of trees pop in front of you! A second look at it and you realise that they are standing right in the middle of the road! You now have seconds before crashing into one of them. Time for you to take complete control of the vehicle and ride zig-zag through these trees! We aren't talking about an India edition of 'Subway Surfers'. This scenario actually happened in Bihar! As they say, India is not for beginners...

Bihar's Infamous Obstacle Course Road: A Closer Look At It

The stretch that we discussed is on a section of the Patna-Gaya highway, in Jehanabad. The road here was recently made wider, as part of a Rs 100 Crore project.

This 7.48 km stretch is about 50 kilometres away from Patna and was recently paved. At the time of landscaping, the agency responsible for the construction sought permission from the forest department to get rid of the trees nearby, so that the road could be made wider.

The department, however, denied the request and demanded compensation for 14 hectares of non-forest land for plantation. The district admin was unable to fulfil the same and decided to build the road around the trees- the good old "Sarkari problems require Sarkari solutions" formula.

You now see full-grown trees standing tall across lanes, in an asymmetrical manner. Users of this road need to weave through them and make it to the other side alive! The stretch is indeed unpredictable and particularly dangerous at night. The construction puts lives at stake, but keeps the builder away from the 'risk of having to pay a huge sum in compensation'.

This 'unique' construction is now gathering a lot of ridicule online. Photos and videos of it are doing rounds on the internet. Netizens have been pointing out the major planning and execution flaws that the project has had, and are mocking the authorities for the same.

At a time when the government of India has strengthened its focus on ensuring road safety and building high-quality road infrastructure, it is a disgrace to find hazardous constructions like this. Who will be accountable for any crashes or loss of lives caused by these trees? Crashes have already been reported at the place.

Another major flaw that this incident has brought to light is the lack of coordination between the forest department and the one responsible for road construction. Ideally, the two should coordinate with each other and work seamlessly.

This road was previously part of the National Highway (NH) 83. But now, it comes under the state Road Construction Department (RCD), as a new highway has been built connecting Gaya with the state capital.

Authorities Comment On The Issue

RCD Executive Engineer Dhananjay Kumar reportedly told Times Of India (TOI) that the widening work will continue only after the forest department grands clearance to remove the trees. He added that he has already informed the district administration and the RCD about the need of urgent need to get clearance.

Sub-Divisional Officer Rajeev Ranjan reportedly confirmed that they haven't received the Forest Department's No Objection Certificate (NOC) yet. For now, authorities have given orders to fix Radium reflectors on the obstructing trees to minimise the chances of crashes. The project was expected to be completed by April this year. Due to the lack of forest clearance, it remains unfinished as we speak...