Latest news with #RewaAirport
Indian Express
a day ago
- Climate
- Indian Express
Boundary wall at Madhya Pradesh's recently inaugurated Rewa airport collapses after heavy rain
A section of the boundary wall at Madhya Pradesh's Rewa Airport collapsed late Friday night after intense rainfall battered the region, sparking concerns over the quality of construction at the recently inaugurated facility. Officials said the collapse occurred following a spell of heavy rain that caused rivers in Rewa district to overflow, submerging low-lying urban areas and displacing several families. The high-velocity water current breached a large stretch of the airport's perimeter wall, pushing a parked car several feet and causing motorcycles to float in the floodwaters. Airport officials confirmed that around 5 feet of water entered the premises during the night. 'Heavy rain, similar to what we experienced last year, led to water gushing into the airport from nearby Umari village. The impacted section is at the lowest elevation of the boundary wall,' Navneet Chaudhary, senior manager at Rewa Airport, said, adding that the boundary wall was designed primarily for wind and structural weight resistance, not for withstanding high-velocity water flow. Built at a cost of nearly Rs 500 crore, Rewa Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, marking a major infrastructural milestone for the Vindhya region. However, even before its official launch, questions were raised about the structural integrity of the facility. Responding to the allegations, airport authorities maintained that the wall's failure was not due to construction flaws but rather to extreme weather events. 'We cannot blame the construction quality entirely. Had we known in advance about the high flow of water from the village side, we would have installed grills up to the half-wall height,' Chaudhary said. He further stated that the damaged portion would be reconstructed with modifications, including the installation of grilles, which would allow rainwater to pass through without exerting pressure on the structure. 'Next time this won't happen, as the water would pass through the grill and pressure won't come on the wall,' he said.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Cracks In Rs 500-Crore Project? Airport Wall Collapses After Rain In Madhya Pradesh's Rewa
Rewa, Madhya Pradesh: A section of the boundary wall of the newly-constructed Rewa Airport in Madhya Pradesh, built at a cost of Rs 500 crore, has collapsed barely months after completion, raising serious questions about construction quality and flood preparedness of one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the state. According to locals, the ground beneath the wall gave way due to heavy rainfall, causing a portion of the airport's outer boundary to crumble during the night. This is not the first time the boundary wall has failed - a similar breach was reported during the rains last year, even before the airport became operational. Rewa Airport was envisioned as a game-changer for the Vindhya region. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the project virtually from Varanasi, the airport was completed in a record 18 months on 323 acres of land acquired from five villages. The facility boasts a 2,300-meter-long runway and is currently operating two flights connecting Rewa to Bhopal via Khajuraho and Jabalpur. While it now handles only 19-seater aircraft, the plan is to scale up to 72-seaters in the coming months. The airport has been licensed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and was designed to serve the region for the next 50 years. But even before it could take off in full swing, its foundation had begun to sink, literally. In the past 24 hours, Rewa has received 8 inches of relentless rainfall. The Bichhiya and Bihar rivers, lifelines of the district, have overflowed, submerging large parts of the city. At least four localities along the riverbanks are now inundated, with three to four feet of water inside homes and shops. Shockingly, even the house of Gudh MLA Nagendra Singh was not spared. Speaking to reporters, Mr Singh said, "Rewa city has been turned into a pond. Unless the river is deepened and the floodplain is managed, this problem will continue year after year."
