₹ 777-Crore Pragati Maidan Tunnel Beyond Repair, Needs Overhaul: Report

New Delhi: 

The Pragati Maidan tunnel in Delhi is beyond repair and needs a major overhaul, The Hindu cited a senior Delhi government official as saying. A delay in the tunnel’s completion and negligence in maintenance has led to cracks in the tunnel, the PWD official was quoted as saying. The structure is not safe for commuters anymore and it cannot be repaired without a complete revamp, he said.

The Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) issued a notice to Larsen and Toubro over alleged “glaring infirmities” in the ₹ 777-crore tunnel. The department has also demanded ₹ 500 crore as a “token amount” from L&T, prompting a counterclaim of a similar amount from the construction firm. The government department has also directed the company to immediately begin repair work.

Speaking about the leaks and cracks in the tunnel it built, the spokesperson of L&T said, “The PWD is our respected client. We have happily worked with them for years. L&T wishes to inform the company has filed a claim of ₹ 500 crore against PWD.”

The tunnel, built just a little over a year ago, has developed seepage issues with water leaking from the walls. A stream of water is seen coming from the middle of the road, inundating the tunnel, and there are cracks in the tunnel walls.

The road has also developed massive cracks, NDTV’s ground report showed. The tunnel has now become quite dangerous for the people using it given the leaks at several places.

Archit Singh, an urban planning expert, said, “There seems to be an issue of waterproofing. It seems that soil testing was not done properly. First of all, the use of this tunnel should be stopped. The government should form a fact-finding team of geological experts, architects, tunnel engineers, and structural engineers. The team should find the reasons for leakage and cracks and figure out if the tunnel can be repaired and how.”