Gadkari Blasts Govt Officials, Says 'Blind' After Rs 3500 Crore Four-Lane Road Collapses in Himachal

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has expressed his anger over the collapse of the Manali-Kullu four-lane road constructed at a cost of Rs. 3500 crores in Himachal. He blamed the engineers for this and called the government officials blind.

Gadkari said that the officers who prepare the detailed project report (DPR) are responsible for this. He said, many officers form their own companies after retirement. These people make DPRs from home using Google. They do not do any detailed study in the field. Gadkari said, many DPRs are made without detailed study and our government officers are also blind. They immediately issue tenders on such DPRs. He said, many ministers are not able to understand.

The Union Minister said that technical and financial qualifications are put in the tender on the instructions of big companies. He requested the engineers present in the program that the DPR should be good. He said, every year the road is breaking in the rain. There are mountains here, mountains there, river in the middle and people are settled on the river bank. Every year there is a landslide in the rain. Every year people are dying. Now there is no solution for this.

Let us tell you that ever since the Chandigarh-Manali four-lane has been built in Himachal, more devastation is taking place every year. The four-lane gets submerged in the Beas even before it is fully completed. Questions have been raised repeatedly on the functioning of the NHAI regarding the construction of other four-lane and NH projects in the state.