Maharashtra: Portion of Samruddhi Corridor deck slab damaged, Patole accuses Shinde govt of corruption

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Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Saturday accused the state government of corruption in the construction of Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Corridor after a portion of the deck slab of the Corridor was found damaged in Amravati.

Newswire PTI reported that the damaged spot was on the Nandgaon Khandeshwar stretch near Lohgaon on the Mumbai-bound leg of the expressway.

A press release issued by the chief engineer (Amravati) of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said "minor local damage was noticed on the deck slab near outer edge of carriage way on the 14th span of viaduct at chain number 156+350 on Mumbai corridor" on the night of February 29.

"The local damage noticed portion is blocked for the traffic by curtailing this lane to the traffic. The damaged portion restoration work is under progress as per specifications and it is expected to be completed within next five days. The reason is being examined by a technical team," the MSRDC release said.

Hitting out, state Congress president Nana Patole said the crater was a reflection of the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government's corruption besides poor quality of the construction.

"What will you plug when the entire roof is leaking?" he asked in a statement.

The 700 km Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Highway was inaugurated by the Shinde-Fadnavis government at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with much fanfare, he noted.

"The condition of the highway that claims to take passengers from Mumbai to Nagpur in 12 hours is pathetic. The Samruddhi Highway has been controversial since its inception due to the number of fatal accidents. Questions are being raised about the quality of the work after a bridge developed a huge pothole," Patole said.

"The fresh damage has not only exposed the quality of the road but also the corruption of the Shinde-Fadnavis government," he said, adding that complaints about defects in the design and construction were ignored.

The highway, built at a cost of Rs 55,000 crore, has been "a breeding ground for corruption" right from the land acquisition stage, Patole alleged. (With inputs from PTI)