Serious flaws in road construction

Any man-made structure can collapse in a natural disaster. No one can be blamed for it. It can only be rebuilt, thinking that it is the decision of nature. Large structures can collapse as part of war damage. The cause of that is man himself. However, there is no other reason than serious mistakes in the construction phase for the halfway-through collapse of the constructions that do not follow the specified standards and do not follow the warnings of dangers. The ones responsible for it are the contractor company that undertook the construction. Along with this, the government officials who supervised it are also fully responsible. The primary responsibility for the collapse of the national highway under construction in Kooriyad in Malappuram district before the onset of the monsoon season lies with the contractor company. The National Highway Authority cannot escape its responsibility either.

A ban has been imposed on the company KNR Constructions, which won the contract. Two officials have been suspended. The centre's decision is that the company should fix the defects at its own expense. It is a good thing that such punitive measures were taken immediately. However, it is not clear why the road collapsed here. Only when the cause is known can the treatment be effective. It is learned that a committee under the supervision of experts from IIT Delhi will examine the construction collapse in Kooriyad, Thrissur, Kuppam, Kanhangad and the national highway construction in general. Such measures were taken after the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways intervened in the matter.

The National Highways Authority of India is now saying that the reason for the crack in the road in Kannur Kuppam is the defects in the DPR. This should not be said at the stage of completion of the construction, but before the construction begins. Such observations will only lead to political divisions and arguments. What the people want are measures to permanently resolve the problem without causing any further accidents. The KNR Constructions Company officials have made it clear that if a bridge is needed at the site where the road has been damaged, they are ready to build that too. In that case, a decision needs to be made on whether a bridge or a road is needed there. The state government can also express its opinion after seeking expert advice in this regard.

Although the state government is not responsible for the road collapse, it cannot completely evade its responsibility to ensure that safe construction is carried out in a way that does not pose a danger to the people. That is because, even before the onset of the monsoon season, the media had brought out photos and news of cracks appearing on the service roads constructed as part of the national highway in many places. However, it is not right to spread the word that the entire national highway construction in Kerala is a mess on this account. The ones who do that are people who are trying to fish in troubled waters. The politically motivated controversy will only cause the real flaws in the problem to go unnoticed. What the people want is immediate fixes if there are recurring problems like the one at Kooriyad.