The district administration is all set to crack the whip on National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) since the extended deadline to repair damaged parts of Edappally-Aroor NH bypass expired on Thursday.
This is the second time in a month that the agency has failed to abide by the deadline issued by District Collector M.G. Rajamanickam. He had threatened to stop toll collection over the stretch if NHAI failed to do repair it by Thursday. “A decision on how to deal with the issue will be taken on Saturday,” Mr. Rajamanickam told The Hindu .
Agencies such as DMRC made considerable progress in road repair works during four days since Sunday when there was respite from rain.
Speaking about the fate of repair works, Kochi project director of NHAI, C.T. Abraham said the agency would need a few more days to repair gaping potholes in the Kumbalam toll plaza, bridges and roads on the NH stretch. “Sunken approaches to bridges too are being tended to,” he said.
Though the agency is filling potholes using wet mix macadam, the contractor entrusted with the work is not repairing all potholes. With NHAI not repairing battered Kundanoor Junction, PWD had to pave the junction using concrete blocks. Similarly, DMRC used the same material to repair Edappally Junction.
