E-Paper
Rain damages portion of Ambala-Panipat highway
As a preventive measure, the National Highways Authority of India has created diversions by placing spring posts at such points, mostly on flyovers
Incessant rains in the northern part of Haryana have left a substantial portion of National Highway-44 between Ambala and Panipat damaged.
As per a statement issued by officials of the meteorology department at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University in Hisar on July 29, Haryana has received 23% more rainfall this season.
The rains have created multiple potholes while several small portions of roads have caved in after gradual soil erosion on both sides of highways, posing a threat to commuters.
As a preventive measure, the National Highways Authority of India has created diversions by placing spring posts at such points, mostly on flyovers, said Bhanu Pratap, section engineer with NHAI in Ambala.
However, commuters have complained of damage to their vehicles because of deep potholes and gaps in metal bars on the flyovers.
Malak Singh, a weekly commuter between Karnal and Patiala, said due to the diversions, risk of accidents looms large when a driver is trying to overtake.
“It’s been weeks that such pillars were put, but I haven’t seen any repair activity at these points. Rather, these lead to traffic jams. The authorities should complete the repair work at the earliest ,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pratap said the number of potholes has decreased in the past few days as at least four construction vehicles have been pressed into service on the highway to plug the gaps.
“Our teams are already repairing the section between Pipli and Ambala, while the rest of the area has been covered. Now, almost 80% work is complete on the entire stretch and diversions have been removed,” he added.
