Rain fury: New road worth Rs 86 crore collapsed in Uttarakhand

The road connecting the newly constructed Chamba tunnel under Rishikesh - Gangotri Nation Highway has collapsed following heavy rains. Constructed at a cost of Rs 86 crore and using Australian technology, the road collapsed even before its inauguration. The road connecting the strategically important Chamba Tunnel couldn't withstand a single rain season.

Tehri (Uttarakhand):The road connecting the newly constructed Chamba tunnel under Rishikesh - Gangotri Nation Highway has collapsed following heavy rains. Constructed at a cost of 86 crores and using Australian technology, the road collapsed even before its inauguration. The road connecting the strategically important Chamba Tunnel couldn't withstand a single rain season. Around one kilometre of this newly built road has collapsed and washed away.

Fortunately, when the road collapsed, no vehicles were plying on it, preventing human loss. Following the incident, the road construction company, Bharat Construction, is in focus. There are demands to check the construction quality of all the roads constructed by this company in the state. A local social activist, Sohan Singh said that they have informed the district administration along with the central and state government about the substandard construction work by Bharat Construction, but no one paid any attention to their complaints. We demand that all the construction work done by Bharat Construction be investigated.

Chamba's Panchayat member Sanjay Rawat said that the Chamba Tunnel on Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway 94 was not even inaugurated. Even before the inauguration, the rain has broken the entire road. This has exposed the poor construction of Bharat Construction Company. We complained about the officials of the company to the Border Roads Organisation many times for its safety, but no one paid attention to it. Central and state governments should investigate Bharat Construction Company.

One of the labourers, working with the Bharat Construction Company, said that while building the road, hard rocks were not added at the base of the road. It is filled only with soil. Due to this, the road has collapsed after rain. The labourers also added that the company does not make complete arrangements for its workers to live on the site. The company haven't provided even tin sheets for making rooms for living, which is making it difficult to live and work on the site.

Bhagwati, the Liaising Officer of Bharat Construction Company, said that the base of the road was not strong. Due to the high altitude, this road has collapsed. He added that the design given by the consultant earlier to build the road was not successful. Now, they are waiting for a new design before rectifying the road construction. BRO officer Laxmi Chand Sharma said that the road which is broken will be rebuilt by the same company, as it has a maintenance contract for four years.