SHILLONG, June 21: The High Court of Meghalaya on Wednesday directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to take remedial measures and consider placing rocks and nets or building retaining walls on the sides of the mountain on either side of the Sonapyrdi (Sonapur) tunnel to ensure that the landslides do not affect navigability along the route.
During the hearing of a PIL on the matter, the State PWD (Roads) submitted a report pertaining to Jowai Bypass under NH-6, which is a 7.997 km stretch from Mukhla (Thadlaskein) to Mihmyntdu.
According to the report, the repair work began at a time when heavy rainfall and floods occurred and because of the heavy traffic on the bypass, vehicles had to be allowed to ply immediately upon the newly-laid bitumen layer without the layer being given time to settle.
The report adds that the contractor has been directed to rebuild the damaged portions of the bypass. Photographs were appended to the report indicating the repair being undertaken on the bypass.
Apart from this, the report indicates that work is on for the roadside drain clearance along the entire bypass to ensure that there is no accumulation of water on the road surface.
The court hoped that the repair work on the bypass is completed as expeditiously as possible and some amount of continuing repair work undertaken even during the monsoon as the wear and tear of the road is more pronounced during such period.
As far as the road beyond Khliehriat up to Ratacherra side, the National Highways Authority of India referred to the landslides near the Sonapur tunnel.
According to NHAI, the entire road was previously under the State PWD and has recently been taken over by NHAI. The landslides around the tunnel have made it extremely difficult for the tunnel to be navigable and NHAI says that sufficient manpower has been engaged to remove the mud and debris and make the tunnel available to the heavy traffic passing either way.
The NHAI complained that the tunnel is in an area which is prone to landslides and, oftentimes, the slush chokes up the entirety of the tunnel.
The NHAI said it is exploring the nature of additional work that is necessary to allow the Sonapur tunnel to function normally and appropriate action in such regard will be taken expeditiously.
The court asked the NHAI to ensure that the stretch of road beyond Khliehriat and leading to the Barak Valley in Assam is available to traffic at all times and that repair works continue all the time, particularly during the monsoon, to ensure that the key connection to the Barak Valley part of the Assam and to the states of Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram is not inconveniently disrupted.
“It is imperative that a long-term measure be indicated to arrest further mudflow into the tunnel,” the order said.
