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Now, NHAI projects hit due to labour shortage
Gurugram:
Gurugram:
Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, several ongoing projects of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in the city might face a further delay in completion due to unavailability of workers, NHAI contractors said on Friday.
Projects such as Ambience Mall underpass, Shankar Chowk elevated U-turn and Badshahpur-Sohna road, which were nearing completion before the lockdown set in, are now likely to miss their deadlines by several months, said the contractors.
On April 20, NHAI contractors had applied for permission on the SARAL portal for the movement of workers. On April 24, almost a month after the construction work had stopped due to the lockdown, the district administration gave them permission to resume work.
Krishan Kumar, an official of RK Contractor, which has the contract for Ambience Mall underpass and Shankar Chowk elevated U-turn, said, “We had received permission for 20 labourers on both the sites, but now only 10 are left. It’s hard to manage work with half the strength of workers at the sites.”
As per Kumar, around 80% of the work on the elevated U-turn at Shankar Chowk is complete, while 70% work on the Ambience Mall underpass has been completed. The Shankar Chowk U-turn was expected to open in April, while the Ambience Mall was expected to open two months later.
Kunal Garg, project manager, RK Contractor, said, “With full workforce, the Shankar Chowk U-turn will be completed in one-and-a-half months while it will take another three months for the Ambience Mall underpass project to be thrown open for commuters.”
Thousands of migrant workers, who were employed at construction sites and industries in the city, had left the city on foot for their home states in late March after the lockdown to contain the Covid-19 spread was announced.
According to government officials, at least 1.9 lakh workers in Gurugram are still waiting to return to their native places and have registered on its online portal for travel assistance.
The scenario is the same at Badshahpur-Sohna road project where most of the workers have left the site. This project is divided into two packages. Oriental Structural Engineers Pvt Ltd (OSEPL) is responsible for the first stretch (6 km), while HG Infrastructure is carrying out construction on the second stretch (12.72 km). The first package involves the construction of an underpass at Subhash Chowk and a 5-km elevated section between Subhash Chowk and Badshahpur.
Sailesh Kumar, assistant general manager, OSEPL, which is the NHAI contractor, said, “I can’t say anything about the delay, but we had 175 labourers and now only 100 are left.”
The second package of the project comprises flyovers and underpasses at important crossings up to Sohna, including a toll plaza at Ghamroj. The total cost of the project is ₹1,313 crore.
Kuldeep Rajvanshi, project director, HG Infrastructure, said, “This project was scheduled to be completed by July 2021. But now with workers leaving, it will be delayed. Till now, we completed 55% of the work which also includes constructing the toll plaza building at Ghamroj.”
When asked about the matter, NHAI officials in Gurugram said they are aware that the current projects in the city will be delayed due to the shortage of workers.
