News Detail

• Four months after the Butibori railway overbridge (ROB) was inaugurated by state chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, a gaping hole has appeared in the four-laned ROB.The four-laned ROB was formally commissioned by Chavan on October 8, 2011. However, five days ago a gaping hole has appeared in one of the lanes posing danger to the vehicles. Hence now only one lane is functional.The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials have covered the spot and have put barricades to avoid any mishap. However, some social activists have demanded probe into the poor quality of construction by NHAI contractor.
• "The hole is 6 feet long and 4 feet wide. The steel rods are visible and one can even see the moving trains from under the bridge. We will launch agitation against the NHAI if the contractor is not punished," said Praveen Ilarkar, a social worker. A group of social activists from Butibori and Borkhedi has decided to stage protests against the NHAI.Another activist Praveen Gautam said the plaque bearing Chavan and other leaders' names is also missing from the spot.
• When contacted, Naresh Wadetwar, project director of NHAI, tried to downplay the issue by denying that damage to the road was a result of poor quality construction."It is a small spot in the 15,000 cubic metre construction work we did. The hole will be repaired in 3-4 days," Wadetwar told TOI.Although the two-lanes were thrown open for traffic in November 2010, deadline for remaining two-lanes was set for January 2011. However, the deadlines were never met and the NHAI kept on extending them.It took almost 14 years for the vital project to be in place. Initially, the ROB was to be constructed by the public works department (PWD) in 1997. It came to NHAI in 1998. However, in 1999, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) showed interest in the project.

Source