The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has suspended three officials and initiated disciplinary action after a section of a retaining wall collapsed at an under-construction stretch of the Pune–Bengaluru National Highway (NH-48) near Nippani.
The incident occurred at around 11 am on July 29 along the six-laning project between the Sankeshwar Bypass and the Maharashtra border. According to NHAI, nearly 12 metres of a Reinforced Earth (RE) block-faced retaining wall at the approach embankment of the main carriageway collapsed, sending RE blocks and filter material onto the adjacent service road.
In its preliminary assessment, NHAI attributed the collapse to continuous heavy rainfall. Water seepage through the sub-grade reportedly caused erosion, leading to the failure of the retaining wall. The authority clarified that the embankment was still under construction, with the Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC) layer yet to be laid and only part of the Dry Lean Concrete (DLC) work completed.
NHAI also stated that traffic movement was not affected as vehicles had already been diverted to the adjoining service road before the incident. Restoration and stabilisation work has been taken up on priority, and project teams have been instructed to ensure strict adherence to quality, safety and engineering standards.
Taking serious note of the incident, NHAI has issued show-cause notices to the contractor and the engineer associated with the project. The Project Director, Bridge Engineer and Resident Engineer have been placed under suspension pending a detailed inquiry. Further disciplinary action against the officials and project personnel concerned has also been initiated.
The collapse had raised concerns over the quality and safety of the ongoing highway expansion project, especially after visuals of the damaged retaining wall near Gandhi Hospital, Nippani, went viral on social media. The outcome of the inquiry is expected to determine whether the failure was solely due to heavy rainfall or if construction deficiencies also contributed to the incident.