Contract firm KNRC blames slushy soil for NH collapse
KOCHI: KNR Constructions (KNRC) said the company has made no 'mistake' in the construction of NH 66 and attributed the collapse of the highway stretch at Kooriyad in Malappuram to unexpected subsoil conditions.
According to KNRC, the company responsible for the Ramanattukara-Valanchery section of NH 66, the approach ramp with a reinforced earth (RE) wall yielded due to 'pockets of soft or slushy soil between the earth's layers' beneath the foundation. The Hyderabad-based listed company, in its latest earnings call, stated that the construction process followed proper protocols.
'We are very confident that we have not done any mistake... It's a completely waterlogged area... Proper approvals were taken, and thorough examination of the foundations were done during earthing, along with subsoil investigations,' K Jalandhar Reddy, promoter and executive director of KNRC, said in the call.
Responding to analysts' questions, Reddy explained that the designs were made accordingly, and Strata Geosystems, a renowned RE Walls agency, had done the work. 'The design was verified and approved by the authorities concerned before execution. So, as such, we didn't see anything that would have indicated this issue. We treat this as an accident only,' he said.
He said the company has put forth a proposal to NHAI to construct a viaduct in the damaged area —estimated to cost Rs 25-Rs 30 crore — to permanently resolve the issue. Reddy said this solution would prevent similar problems in the future given the road's 15-year maintenance requirement.
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