Nitish Sharma
Tribune News Service
Ambala, January 5
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will be spending around Rs 600 crore to rectify the construction deficiencies of the highway. The NHAI officials have observed construction deficiencies, including in drainages, entry and exit points, and other structures on service lanes on the 291-km stretch of NH-44 between Panipat and Jalandhar.
As per information, the NHAI has already spent nearly Rs 300 crore last year on bituminous concrete overlay work, gantries, signage and other maintenance work.
A senior official of the NHAI in Ambala said: “The six-laning of the 291-km stretch of NH-44 from Panipat to Jalandhar was allotted to a company in May 2008. The work started in May 2009 and was to be completed by November 2011, but the project got delayed by nine years. Due to the poor maintenance of the highway, the NHAI had terminated the contract of the company and for nearly past year, it has been maintaining it directly through its agencies.”
No end to woes
Due to delay in construction, commuters have suffered a lot of inconvenience in the past nine years. The NHAI has done a lot to improve the condition of the highway. Virendra Singh, project director, National Highways Authority of India, Ambala
Rs 600 cr to be spent on Panipat-Jalandhar highway repair
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