Sohna Road flyover collapse fifth such incident in a year

Gurugram: Saturday's collapse of an under-construction flyover at Sohna Road in Gurugram was the fifth incident of a flyover in the "Millennium City" either falling off or developing major cracks, despite thousands of crores poured into the projects by both the National Highways Authority of India and the Haryana Government.

Apart from the Sohna Road flyover collapse, in the last year, the road at Hero Chowk flyover had caved in; deep cracks had emerged in the IFFCO Chowk flyover; a portion of the Rampur flyover had broken and fallen off and a similar incident was seen at the Pataudi Rail-over Bridge.

Significantly, even as local law enforcement authorities have registered cases in the incidents at Rampur flyover and Hero Chowk flyover, there is yet to be any major breakthrough. The cases are being looked into by the state CID.

The NHAI has already set up a committee of experts to look into how the Sohna Road flyover collapsed. Already delayed, it is believed that the contractor was trying to speed up the work which is likely to have led to the mishap. There is also a view that the contractor had not invested in a proper safety mechanism. The two contractors in charge of the project are HG Infrastructure and Oriental Structural Engineers. The portion of the flyover that collapsed was being supervised by Oriental Structural Engineers.

On Saturday, it was a lucky escape for residents who regularly commute through that portion of the road.

The 18-kilometer flyover is a part of the Sohna elevated road project, the construction of which began in the latter half of 2019. The flyover is just metres away from the Vipul Green society. On Saturday night at around 10:00 pm when the portion of the flyover collapsed, residents explained that at first instance, they felt a massive earthquake had shaken their

society.

"There was a huge sound and the earth shook. At first, I felt either there was a massive earthquake or there was a cylinder blast in the nearby area. When I saw outside there was a thick layer of dust around the area and that is when I realised that the portion of the flyover had fallen off," said Rashmi Malhotra one of the residents of Vipul Greens.

Angered by the flaws in road infrastructure being exposed on a daily basis, the residents of Gurugram have not shied away from criticising state authorities.