Expert panel’s report blames construction company for serious lapses on collapse of NH 66

MALAPPURAM: The expert panel has handed over a report to the central government in connection with the collapse of Kooriyad national highway. The report says there are lapses on the side of the construction companies in the incident. The panel has recommended to reconstruct completely the road on the part which collapsed. The report says that one kilometer of the collapsed part of the Kooriyad National Highway, including the protective wall, should be rebuilt completely.

The report also says that soil testing was not carried out properly for the construction of the road in the area. The transport secretary has mentioned in the report that what happened was an unfortunate incident. The expert committee found that necessary technical inspection was not carried out in the paddy fields in the Kooriyad region and that there was a major flaw in the design.

Immediately after the collapse of the national highway, the center had debarred the contract company KNR Constructions. Along with this, the company Highway Engineering Consultant (HEC), which worked as a consultant for the project, is also banned. The project manager of the scheme, M Amarnath Reddy, was suspended.

A section of National Highway 66 collapsed on May 19th. The National Highway collapsed and fell onto the service road, and it itself suffered damages. Following the incident, the national highway authority conducted an inspection. A two-member team reached the spot and conducted the inspection. Dr Jimmy Thomas, a Malayali and Dr Anil Dixit, conducted the inspection at Kooriyad.