Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated on Wednesday that IIT Bombay will be tasked with investigating the recurring landslides in Pernem on National Highway 66 and asked to produce a report on the subject. The report is expected to shed light on the precise cause of the landslides.
After visiting the scene of the most recent landslide in the taluka, the Chief Minister addressed the media. Present on the occasion were representatives from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Public Works Department (PWD). Sawant makes his remarks the day before Nitin Gadkari, the Union minister, travels to Pernem.
Recently, parts of the retaining wall collapsed in Pernem, causing three landslides in less than 48 hours that brought mud and boulders from a hill beside the highway crashing down on the road. A week after one another, there had been two landslides on the national highway last month.
According to Sawant, the contractor will be expected to repair the road at no additional expense. In response to a question about whether the contractor would face consequences, Sawant stated he wouldn’t be able to comment until the IIT report was received.
Declaring that the landslide happened at the top of the hill that was cut, Sawant said the report would pinpoint the precise cause of the landslide, including whether it was caused by poor work quality or by some other technical issue.
The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has already been notified about the landslide, according to the Chief Minister.
