A day after an employee of KCC Buildcon, who claimed to be the Maintenance Manager of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project, told India Today that rats or some other small animal had caused part of the road to collapse on a railway track in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, the company clarified the situation in a letter to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). The company revealed that the comment was made by a junior employee who had no understanding of the job and confirmed that he was terminated from the company.
“The employee is not a maintenance manager; the comments made were not based on technical understanding,” the company said in a letter.
“It is possible that a mouse or some small animal dug a hole, and let the water in,” an employee had earlier told India Today.
Meanwhile, according to the Dausa expressway project director, Balveer Yadav, the road has been derailed due to water leakage.
As soon as the contractor got information about the issue, he immediately sealed off the site, and the hole was repaired, Yadav said.
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, spanning 1,386 km, is the country’s longest expressway, designed to reduce travel time between the two cities from 24 hours to just 12-13 hours.
The railway line crosses many states, including Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
As of July 31, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Rajya Sabha that 80 percent of the project has been completed, and at least one year is still required for its full completion.