Now Reading: NHAI suspends toll, debars officials after fans used to dry Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway
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NHAI suspends toll, debars officials after fans used to dry Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway
NHAI suspends toll, debars officials after fans used to dry Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway
NHAI has suspended toll collection, debarred project officials, and proposed to declare concessionaire PNC Infratech a non-performer after contractors used industrial fans and blowers to dry a damaged stretch of the Rs…
The Story in Brief
NHAI has suspended toll collection, debarred project officials, and proposed to declare concessionaire PNC Infratech a non-performer after contractors used industrial fans and blowers to dry a damaged stretch of the Rs 4,200-crore Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway. The expressway, inaugurated on July 13, developed cracks and subsidence at 84 locations within weeks. The road collapsed or suffered fresh distress nine times in 22 days, project insiders told Hindustan Times. The viral repair method, fans lined up to remove surface moisture after a truck sank into the pavement, was defended by the contractor as a way to speed up drying during monsoon. NHAI has ordered the contractor to repair all stretches at its own cost by Friday.
The Indian Opinion
Opposition glee over 'America-like' roads is predictable, but the real issue is not political point-scoring. An expressway that cost Rs 4,200 crore needed domestic fans to dry bitumen within weeks of opening. That is a plain engineering and supervision failure. Dismissing it as a routine monsoon repair would be dishonest. The test will come once the monsoon ends: if the repaired stretches hold, the debate might fade. If they fail again, the question of who allowed this quality will grow much louder.
Sources (2): english.mathrubhumi.com, hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
