india

Updated: Jan 31, 2019 11:50 IST

The newly built Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway has caved in at several spots in Sonepat a few days after some spells of light rain.

The expressway, built at a cost of over Rs 6,400 crore, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 19 last year.

After some light rain recently, stretches of the road on the sides of the expressway in Kundli started caving in, making it prone to accidents. The road has also caved in at the roundabout that connects the KMP Expressway to the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) Expressway.

The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (HSIIDC), which supervised the construction of the KMP Expressway, has ordered a survey and served a notice to the construction company responsible for its maintenance for the next 14 years during the concession period.

HSIIDC senior manager Surender Deswal, however, said there were no cave-ins but “raincuts” on the sides of the roads that were “usual”. He denied allegations of sub-standard material having been used to construct the expressway.

“Repairs have been ordered and are being conducted right now. The construction company is taking care of it,” he said.

Notably, the Congress had slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he inaugurated the expressway, alleging the expressway was incomplete and was being inaugurated in a hurry by the PM for publicity. “PM Modi and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar are endangering the lives of thousands of commuters by inaugurating the incomplete highway,” Congress leader and Kaithal MLA from Haryana Randeep Surjewala had said. The foundation stone of the KMP Expresway had been laid in 2003 by then INLD government, led by now-incarcerated former CM Om Prakash Chautala. The work on the expressway started in 2006 but got stuck for several years.