Part of under-construction highway collapses in Kollam

Raising serious concerns about the quality of construction and the stability of the reinforced earth (RE) wall along the national highway stretch, a portion of the under-construction embankment at Mylacaudu, near Kottiyam, collapsed on Friday.

The sidewall of the approach road structure caved in, leaving large craters on the service road below and trapping four vehicles, including a school bus. All children and other passengers were safely evacuated and none were injured in the incident. Traffic through national highway towards Thiruvananthapuram came to a standstill after the accident and diversions were arranged later.

As per Shivalaya Construction Ltd, which is in charge of the construction, the 31.250-km highway project on NH-66 involves development of existing two-lane road to six-lane dual carriageway highway.

The project includes construction of a bypass to Kollam city, six flyovers, one rail overbridge, 10 underpasses, four new major bridges, three minor bridges, and 42 culverts.

The project also involves more than 1,00,000 sq m of reinforced earth wall and more than 2.5 million cubic metres of earthwork. While the construction company maintains that the project was initiated only after conducting a scientific study, local residents are demanding an immediate inspection of the soil used in the construction.

Approximately 500 metre of the road has sunk, and residents allege that their repeated complaints about the site’s stability were ignored. They say they are concerned about the chosen construction method in the vulnerable terrain.

“Since it’s an area near paddy fields, filling with soil is risky, and they are playing with the safety of the public. The present earth-filling method should be abandoned in favour of building pillar-supported structures to ensure long-term stability,” said Sreenivasan, resident.

The National Highway stretch that collapsed at Maylakad near Kottiyam in Kollam on Friday.
| Photo Credit:
SURESHKUMAR C

Following the incident, PWD Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas directed the Public Works Secretary to investigate the matter and seek an explanation from the National Highways Authority of India officials inspecting the location.

AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, MP, said the incident once again proved NHAI’s criminal negligence in the construction work and he alleged corruption in the works.