NEW DELHI: Monika Pal, a 27-year-old Physics graduate from DU—and a UPSC arpirant—is questioning the safety of a UP highway diversion after her father Bhopal Singh died in a late-night highway crash near a toll plaza on NH-34. In a grievance complaint filed by Pal against NHAI on March 9, she alleges that poor safety measures turned the construction site into what she calls a “death trap”. Pal accused NHAI of negligence in maintaining safety near the Bhaguwala toll plaza. The complaint, submitted through the government’s public grievance portal (CPGRAMS), states that Singh’s death was the result of “negligence and poor maintenance of the highway construction site”.Singh, 57, died after his motorcycle crashed into barricades placed across a diversion shortly after crossing the Bhaguwala toll plaza on the Najibabad–Haridwar stretch late on March 5. Pal wrote that the diversion consisted of heavy stone blocks and iron barricades that effectively formed a “solid wall” instead of energy-absorbing safety barriers. “The current setup is a death trap that has already claimed my father’s life,” the grievance states.NHAI’s deputy general manager (technical) Ravi Prakash said highway construction sites are required to follow safety guidelines laid down by the Indian Roads Congress (IRC). According to Prakash, diversions are supposed to include speed-limit signage, traffic cones, reflective boards, night-visibility markers and “men at work” signs. “There are IRC guidelines and agreements that contractors have to follow for road safety,” he said.For locations with repeated fatal accidents, they may be categorised as “black spots”, sites then inspected by teams that recommend corrective measures. A senior NHAI official in Delhi, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that gaps can emerge between guidelines and ground implementation. “Guidelines exist, but contractors work for profits, and temporary traffic management arrangements like diversions are not always treated as a core part of construction work,” the official said. According to him, contractors often bid aggressively for highway projects and later attempt to reduce costs during execution.For the family, the tragedy has brought both emotional devastation and financial uncertainty. After receiving word that Singh had been involved in a serious accident, Pal, her mother and her two younger brothers rushed to the district hospital in Bijnor. By the time they arrived, shortly after midnight, Singh had already died.The post-mortem examination confirmed that Singh died of severe head trauma sustained in the collision. The report also records multiple other injuries—including a fracture of the frontal bone of the skull, a deep laceration to the chin extending to the jaw bone, and several abrasions and contusions across the body.
