News: NHAI forms committee to probe Dwarka expressway accident-31-03-2021
NHAI forms committee to probe Dwarka expressway accident
The national highways authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday formed a four-member technical committee to probe the collapse of two segments of an under-construction flyover at Dwarka Expressway on Sunday
The work at the accident site remains suspended and authorities said it will resume only after the team visits the spot and gives a preliminary report.
Nirman Jambulkar, NHAI project director, said the team will look into the standard operating procedures that the contractor, Larsen and Turbo (L&T), followed at the site, and also check the design and related aspects. “Work at the site of accident at present has been suspended till the time the committee submits its initial report. The site will be cleared only after the spot is checked in detail by experts,” he said.
The work on the remaining part of phase three of the Dwarka expressway is continuing, said NHAI officials, who admitted that the collapse was a minor setback for the high profile project. It could have pushed the project by a month or two, they said. They also said that work on the site where the accident took place will resume only after remedial measures and suggestions given by the technical commitee are incorporated into the SOP by the contractor.
The collapse of the sections between pillars 107 and 109 injured three workers. Officials of the contractor Larsen and Turbo (L&T) said that they were in the process of removing a slab between pillars 108 and 109 when the accident happened.
The 29-km Dwarka expressway is being developed in four phases and it will connect Kherki Daula and Mahipalpur on NH 48 via Dwarka. It will also provide an extension to the IGI Airport through a tunnel. Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari had visited this highway in the first week of this month and had announced that it will be completed by August 15, 2022.
