Malappuram: A portion of the retaining wall on the under-construction NH-66 at Kooriyad in Malappuram has collapsed again. The collapse occurred near a location where a significant collapse had occurred earlier.

The settlement of embankment and failure of retaining wall occurred on Ramanattukara - Valanchery Section of NH-66 on May 19. Cracks have appeared in several other places on the service road in the area. Due to the continuing heavy rain, water has inundated nearby paddy fields.

Earlier, traffic was blocked along the stretch after the embankment wall collapsed and cracks surfaced on the service road and the adjacent paddy field. Passengers in three vehicles had a miraculous escape as the road caved in. They rushed out of the cars and jumped onto the paddy field nearby. The collapse brought serious complaints by the residents to the fore, who alleged that the design was finalised without considering the local geography, and the construction led to frequent waterlogging in nearby areas.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a statement following the collapse, which said that, prima facie, the incident occurred due to the concessionaire's negligence in confirming the ground conditions and improving ground bearing capacity prior to the commencement of work.

The NHAI has disallowed KNR Constructions Ltd, the project concessionaire from participating in ongoing/ future bidding forthwith. The project consultant / Independent Engineer; Highway Engineering Consultant has also been disallowed from participating in ongoing / future bidding. Project Manager of Concessionaire and Team Leader of Consultant were suspended from their duties. 

A team of two experts, under the supervision of G V Rao, a Retired Professor from IIT-Delhi, has submitted a report to the Ministry and NHAI on the reasons that led to the collapse and corrective measures. Rao said that he would not comment on the matter and that the report was with the NHAI.