New Delhi: The Shimla administration on Monday suspended the blasting permission granted to the construction company undertaking the tunneling work in the Sanjauli-Cemetery
area. The decision was taken after cracks appeared in several houses located on top of the site where the blasting work was being done for the tunneling process.
The decision was taken at a meeting, chaired by the Shimla Deputy Commissioner, Anupam Kashyap, reported news agencies. The meeting also discussed problems faced by residents of the affected areas and also ways to repair the damaged houses and safely continue the tunneling work.
The city administration also informed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) that no blasting work was being carried out currently at the tunnel construction site. However the permit issued to the construction company was suspended with immediate effect.
IIT Roorkee expert team to assess damage caused
According to reports, the district administration has also called in expert teams from IIT Roorkee to scientifically assess and study the reasons behind the cracks in the houses in the region. The teams will inspect the houses affected by the blasting, identify possible causes and suggest measures to carry out the tunnel construction process safely.
Apart from this Revenue Department officials have been tasked with identifying houses which require repairing. The construction company will then prepare a repair roadmap for the houses damaged during the tunneling process.
The Public Works Department (PWD) will assess the quality of repair works carried out by the company. The repairs will be finalised only after the PWD officials approve the same. The repairs will be deemed complete only after the residents are satisfied.
The district administration said that they acted promptly after receiving information about the cracks in the houses. The properties were inspected by a team led by the Additional District Magistrate and Sub Divisional Magistrate.
