Bhopal: A portion of the Bhopal-Jabalpur national highway near Mandideep was washed away due to the heavy discharge of water from Kaliyasot Dam, leading to the suspension of the engineer cum manager of the project. The process to initiate disciplinary action against other senior officials associated with the highway construction project is underway.
The incident is suspected to be triggered by the incessant rainfall in the area causing heavy precipitation in the region, further aggravating the situation. The poor construction of the highway was however the main reason for the incident, the officials concluded.
Madhya Pradesh PWD minister Gopal Bhargav, while talking to ETV Bharat, said, "The project manager cum engineer SP Dubey has been suspended. We are also contemplating taking disciplinary action against Pawan Arora, district manager of the company involved in the construction of the highway."
"Besides, a two-member committee of engineers from IIT-Roorkee will probe the matter and find out whether there was any design flaw in the construction of the highway. The quality of the material used in the laying of the highway was compromised. Hence to stop the recurrence of such incidents in the future, the committee's findings will be implemented accordingly," said Bhargav.
At least 25,000 sand-filled gunny bags have been used as reinforcement. "We will also see the contractual tenure of the contractor. The project was completed last year and three years are remaining for the contractor for the upkeep of the highway," the minister added.
