NH-66 collapse on service road at Kooriyad triggers concerns
Kozhikode: A section of the under-construction NH-66 between Kolappuram and Kooriyad bridge collapsed around 2:30pm in Malappuram. The collapse, including the retaining wall, fell onto the service road built over a filled paddy field, causing it to crack.
The nearby paddy field also cracked and formed a small mound due to the incident. The collapse occurred on the stretch from Kozhikode towards Thrissur.
At that time, four cars on the service road were caught in the collapse. One was carrying a wedding party from Tirurangadi and another had Kavungal Liyakath Ali, former president of AR Nagar grama panchayat. Ali told the media that as the highway collapsed right in front of their car on the way from Kolappuram to Kakkad, the driver stopped at once and everyone ran back to escape.
Passengers in other vehicles, who had minor injuries, were taken to a private hospital in Tirurangadi. After getting an alert, a team of CPOs led by Vengara SHO Rajendran Nair and residents helped move vehicles from the site. One car still remains there. Two cars on the service road were damaged when concrete interlock blocks from the retaining wall and mud fell on them.
Residents blocked a KNR Constructions vehicle, claiming unscientific construction caused the mishap.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Complete protection with iPru All-in-one Term Plan
ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan
Get Quote
Undo
They said they had repeatedly warned authorities about the poor construction, especially after waterlogging on the service road during rains, but no action was taken.
The retaining wall on the elevated road through the fields was built with interlocking cement blocks, which collapsed. People said precast retaining walls should have been used due to the road's height. They demanded that the entire stretch be rebuilt.
After the incident, traffic in the area came to a halt. Vehicles from Kozhikode to Thrissur via Kolappuram and Kakkad were completely blocked. Authorities directed all vehicles to use the VK Padi–Mamburam–Kakkad route instead.
IUML MP ET Mohammed Basheer said the road collapse during construction at Kooriyad stretch of NH-66 was a serious issue. He urged authorities to address public concerns quickly. Basheer blamed a major structural flaw in the construction for the incident and criticized National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for not taking such recurring incidents seriously.
Following the incident, the MP contacted district collector VR Vinod and NHAI officials over phone and urged them to implement immediate remedial measures.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Government approves shifting of Gurgaon's Kherki Daula toll plaza on Delhi-Jaipur NH to Pachgaon
NEW DELHI: The government has approved shifting of Gurgaon's Kherki Daula toll plaza on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway (NH-48) to Pachgaon, a place beyond Manesar, paving the way for easy commute for lakhs of office goers. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now When the plaza is moved to Pachgaon, over 15 kilometres from Gurgaon, commuters travelling between Delhi and Manesar also won't have to pay toll. Locals have been demanding its removal since 2014. TOI has learnt that Union road transport and highways minister has approved the plan, and to ensure the new spot doesn't see any congestion, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will go for Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) toll collection system. For the new facility, the Haryana government has provided nearly 28 acres of land to the highway authority, sources said. The process of shifting and starting the MMLF system to collect toll at Pachgaon may take around six months. 'Pachgaon is the ideal location as it falls beyond Gurgaon and Manesar. Since there is an interchange of the Western Peripheral Expressway and the NH-48 at Pachgaon, the new toll collection point couldn't have been beyond the intersection,' a source said. In the MMLF system, vehicles don't need to stop as overhead cameras installed for each lane will read the vehicle registration number and automatically deduct the charge from the FASTag wallet linked to the vehicle. Sources said a decision has also been taken to have an integrated system to ensure that traffic coming from the Dwarka Expressway side and heading towards Jaipur don't end up paying toll at this point once again as user fee. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'This is very much possible. Once the annual toll pass for private vehicles is rolled out most of the issues will be resolved automatically,' said a source. The shifting of the toll plaza will end conflicts between operators and people from areas adjoining Kherki Daula, and fulfil the promise the Haryana and central governments have been making for the past seven to eight years. Locals have been demanding that the NHAI shift the toll plaza citing that the govt has recovered more than the investment made in constructing the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway by private players and the highway authority. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha in March, the road transport ministry said against Rs 2,489 crore incurred as cost for the NH-48's Delhi-Gurgaon stretch, the toll collection has been around Rs 2,775 crore, around 11% more than the investment. After completion of this 27-km Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, commuters were paying user fees at Sirhaul (Delhi-Gurgaon border) and Kherki Daula toll plazas. Tolling was stopped at the Delhi-Gurgaon border in 2014, bringing relief to commuters travelling between Dhaula Kuan in Delhi and Kherki Daula. However, those going beyond this point paid toll for the entire stretch. At present, NHAI collects toll through its agency. Meanwhile, sources said the decision to shift the Kherki Daula toll plaza by the road transport ministry will create more pressure on the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to do away with physical entry fee collection booths on the capital's borders to prevent congestion. Traffic jams at these places defeat the purpose of huge investment in building highways and expressways for faster connectivity to Delhi.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Govt approves shifting of Gurgaon's Kherki Daula toll plaza on Delhi-Jaipur NH to Pachgaon
New Delhi: The govt has approved shifting of Gurgaon's Kherki Daula toll plaza on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway (NH-48) to Pachgaon, a place beyond Manesar, paving the way for easy commute for lakhs of office goers. When the plaza is moved to Pachgaon, over 15 kms from Gurgaon, commuters travelling between Delhi and Manesar also won't have to pay toll. Locals have been demanding its removal since 2014. TOI has learnt that Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has approved the plan, and to ensure the new spot doesn't see any congestion, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will go for Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) toll collection system. For the new facility, the Haryana govt has provided nearly 28 acres of land to the highway authority, sources said. The process of shifting and starting the MMLF system to collect toll at Pachgaon may take around six months. "Pachgaon is the ideal location as it falls beyond Gurgaon and Manesar. Since there is an interchange of the Western Peripheral Expressway and the NH-48 at Pachgaon, the new toll collection point couldn't have been beyond the intersection," a source said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pinga-Pinga e HBP? Tome isso 1x ao dia se tem mais de 40 anos Portal Saúde do Homem Clique aqui Undo In the MMLF system, vehicles don't need to stop as overhead cameras installed for each lane will read the vehicle registration number and automatically deduct the charge from the FASTag wallet linked to the vehicle. Sources said a decision has also been taken to have an integrated system to ensure that traffic coming from the Dwarka Expressway side and heading towards Jaipur don't end up paying toll at this point once again as user fee. "This is very much possible. Once the annual toll pass for private vehicles is rolled out most of the issues will be resolved automatically," said a source. The shifting of the toll plaza will end conflicts between operators and people from areas adjoining Kherki Daula, and fulfil the promise the Haryana and central govts have been making for the past seven to eight years. Locals have been demanding that the NHAI shift the toll plaza citing that the govt has recovered more than the investment made in constructing the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway by private players and the highway authority. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha in March, the road transport ministry said against Rs 2,489 crore incurred as cost for the NH-48's Delhi-Gurgaon stretch, the toll collection has been around Rs 2,775 crore, around 11% more than the investment. After completion of this 27-km Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, commuters were paying user fee at Sirhaul (Delhi-Gurgaon border) and Kherki Daula toll plazas. Tolling was stopped at the Delhi-Gurgaon border in 2014, bringing relief to commuters travelling between Dhaula Kuan in Delhi and Kherki Daula. However, those going beyond this point paid toll for the entire stretch. At present, NHAI collects toll through its agency. Meanwhile, sources said the decision to shift the Kherki Daula toll plaza by the road transport ministry will create more pressure on the Delhi govt and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to do away with physical entry fee collection booths on the capital's borders to prevent congestion. Traffic jams at these places defeat the purpose of huge investment in building highways and expressways for faster connectivity to Delhi.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Road to relief: Noida to raze footpath, widen 600m e-way stretch near Prerna Sthal
Noida: Noida Authority will partially raze the footpath, a roadside track and paver blocks near the Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal to widen a 600-metre stretch of the expressway by 5.5 metres. Tailbacks on the Noida to Delhi arm of the carriageway often extend till Mahamaya flyover as the stretch between Sector 95 and DND Flyway loop in front of the Prerna Sthal is currently tapered to make space for its pavement and a U-turn towards Sector 18 near the bird feeding point. Last Dec, it added a lane, about 2 metres wide, by merging the left sidewalk with the DND Flyway Loop until Film City, a 250-metre stretch. Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M said the Authority had sought a no-objection certificate for the road widening from the National Dalit Prerna Sthal Committee, which is responsible for the management, security, and maintenance of memorials, museums, institutions, parks, and gardens, on Sept 26 last year and the clearance was received on June 5. Earlier, a consultant hired by the Noida Authority to find out how the expressway section could be widened had recommended removing a one-metre-wide roadside track, a 1.4-metre-wide footpath with railings, and a 3.1-metre-wide stretch with pavers to widen the carriageway by 5.5 metres. Once ready, the total road width in the stretch will go up from 39.5 metres to 45 metres. According to the official, traffic chaos near the DND loop has prompted the need to widen the stretch as the four-lane expressway narrows to three lanes after the bird feeding point. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo There are daily bottlenecks on the stretch as two lakh vehicles from Film City, Sector 18, and GIP Mall areas converge and enter the expressway via the Film City flyover for Delhi. Lane indiscipline near the DND loop adds to the jams. Traffic police are frequently forced to stop vehicles coming from the flyover to regulate traffic flow towards Delhi. Officials said road widening would improve lane continuity and reduce snarls. After the Noida Authority board approves the plan, a tender will be issued, and construction will commence thereafter. Nearly 5 lakh vehicles use the Noida Expressway daily, with two lakh entering the city through the DND Flyway stretch, and another lakh each from Kalindi Kunj, Chilla Border, and Noida's internal sectors.
