Gurugram, May 8 (IANS) In the latest evidence of road deterioration of highways, a large four feet hole was spotted on Wednesday on the Hero Honda Chowk flyover on the Delhi-Jaipur stretch of the National Highway 8 which poses a big risk to the lives of commuters.
The flyover was thrown open to the public in 2016 to ease traffic on this highly congested stretch.
The deterioration, appearing in the middle of the flyover on its Jaipur to Delhi bound flank, has put a serious question mark over quality of construction.
This is third occasion of the flyover being forced to close due to the appearance of holes and comes in the backdrop of the Road Transport and Highways Ministry's claims of achieving 24 km of quality highway constructing per day.
Inspection of the affected site clearly showed the use of lower quality concrete material, thin iron bars as well as thin layers of charcoal.
"We have received information about a hole appearing on Hero Honda Chowk flyover around 5 a.m. Subsequently, road safety staff rushed at the spot and blocked the road. Repairing of the affected area will start soon," said National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Superintending Engineer Ashok Sharma said.
NHAI officials have barricaded the affected area and made a diversion for commuters. This led to a major traffic snarl during the morning and evening rush hours with motorists struck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
"We have diverted traffic movement and are also allowing use of service lanes to give respite to commuters," he said.
Maneser resident Subhash Kashyap, who was among the first to spot the hole, said: "Commuters like me are regular users of this highway and such a big hole invites accidents. The concrete chunk has completely disappeared from the road and only iron bars are visible. I was lucky to maneouvre my car at the right time otherwise I would met with a fatal accident."
"The thickness of flyover is even thinner than the roof of a normal building. The construction company and supervising official of NHAI should take responsibility for lower quality of construction and they should be punished for putting lives of common commuters at risk," he added.
The flyover was built at a cost of Rs 190 crore, and every leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) takes credit for it.
On April 25 last year, a big chunk of the flyover surface disappeared on Jaipur-Delhi stretch. A day later, cracks appears in the middle of the MG Road to Sukhrali loop of the flyover situated on Iffco Chowk.
On December 13, 2018, a five feet hole appeared on the Rampura flyover on the same stretch.
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