Solan: Tarpaulin veil for NH to prevent further damage

Ambika Sharma

Solan, August 24

Awaiting restoration, a 100-150 m patch of the National Highway (NH)-5 near police lines here, which had sunk in by several feet, has been covered with a plastic tarpaulin to contain further damage by seepage of water.

This portion of the highway has been sinking for the last several years and cursory repair work undertaken to rectify the damage has failed to sustain. Seepage of water after the recent spell of rain has deteriorated its condition. The four-laning of this highway is being done by a private company, GR Infraprojects.

Service lane facing the hill has been hit as the road has sunk in by nearly five to six feet. The plastic sheets have failed to check the erosion as the road has suffered colossal damage.

The quality of construction undertaken over this highway has come under the scanner as besides the hill slopes, which have eroded, surface of the road was developing cracks and caving in at several places.

A temple located below this road was damaged when the road had sunk in last year. The temple was relocated by the local residents to a nearby place after the road was repaired. The shoddy repair work, however, failed to sustain and gaping cracks were visible on the surface.

Work to repair this damaged patch was yet to begin as the labour was engaged in critical areas like Chakki Mor, near Patta Mor, etc. One can see huge chunk of debris piled up all along the Parwanoo-Solan section of the National Highway-5.

Anand Dhaiya, Project Director, National Highways Authority of India, informed that “The spot near Solan police lines would be restored by repairing the retaining walls.”