CUTTACK: In what has exposed the poor quality of construction work, the six-lane road from Chahata square to Madhu Sudan Setu in Cuttack, work for which is still underway, suffered damages at multiple places after the retaining wall caved in, in the impact of heavy rains in the city late on Wednesday night.
A 50-metre stretch of the retaining wall has collapsed near Bhuasuni Patha while another 30 metre of the wall is almost on the verge of caving in, as a result of which around 100 metre stretch of the road has been washed away.
This, despite the fact that the said portion of the road recently underwent repair and maintenance work. The incident has caused severe inconvenience to the public, raising safety concerns for the commuters.
Sources said, the 2.5-km six-lane road is being constructed by the Roads & Building division at the cost of about `70 crore. However, due to low grade construction work, the retaining wall failed to bear the load of the wet fly ash following which it collapsed and washed away the road, they alleged.
Locals claimed that the retaining wall did not have sufficient base as a result of which it could not bear the load after the heavy downpour. “We had demanded that the base of the wall be constructed four to six feet deep so that it holds the wall well. However, the contractor concerned turned a deaf ear to our advice and erected the wall with a low-level base,” they alleged, further demanding a probe into the matter.
A retired engineer of the Works department said a retaining wall should be such that it acts as a rigid structural barrier with a strong base to hold back soil laterally, preventing it from sliding or eroding. “From the incident, it appears that the retaining wall had a weak base as a result of which it could not bear the load and collapsed,” he said.
Efforts to elicit response from superintending engineer, Roads & Building Division-1, Cuttack, Md Shahbaz on the issue proved futile.
Meanwhile, Cuttack collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde has directed him to inspect the site and furnish a detailed factual report indicating the date and nature of work executed, executing agency/contractor responsible for the work, technical reasons for the collapse of the road, whether damage was caused due to inadequate compaction, poor quality materials, drainage failure, heavy rainfall, underground utility work or any other technical deficiency and if the work was executed in accordance with approved specifications and quality control standards. The superintending engineer has been further asked to barricade the affected area.