Kangra: Rain washes away quality claims of construction firm

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, July 28

The monsoon rains have caused extensive damage to the ongoing second phase construction of the Pathankot-Mandi four-lane project from Bherkhud to Rajol in Kangra district. Within a fortnight, the under-construction stretch was reportedly damaged for the second time, raising eyebrows over the quality of the work of the project.

Recently, rains that lashed the area had damaged the concrete wall built to support the embankment of the highway stretch at Kaiharna village near Kotla. A rain shelter, built by the four-lane construction company, also collapsed and fell into the local Bherkhud rivulet. If this had happened during the day time, the passengers who were waiting in the rain shelter might have been gravely injured.

Earlier, the first monsoon showers washed away the loose soil underneath a concrete wall near Bhalli on the same stretch between Seuni-Rajol.

In this connection, Tushar Singh, NHAI Deputy General Manager (DGM), said preliminary findings revealed that the concrete structure of the highway embankment had been damaged due to a landslide that was triggered by heavy rain. “The Pathankot-Mandi highway widening project is being constructed under the hybrid annuity mode (HAM) and the construction company is responsible for the re-construction of the damaged structures and even for the repair and maintenance of the four-lane for 15 years after the completion of the project,” he added.

The DGM said the construction company would re-construct the damaged concrete structure at its own cost.

As per information, the construction company after receiving a notice from the Palampur NHAI project director, had dismantled the wall so that it could be re-constructed.

Meanwhile, Aman Rana, a social activist and resident of Bhali, has underlined the need to ensure regular scientific examination of the ongoing project by the NHAI’s experts to ensure that there was no risk to the lives of people travelling or plying their vehicles on the four-lane.

He said the incidents had cast a doubt on the quality of the ongoing work of the Pathankot-Mandi four-lane project. He said on March 3, he had submitted a complaint to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways against the construction company for allegedly violating the technical norms while constructing the highway.