NHAI to reopen Pune-Nashik highway lane after removing loose rocks

NASHIK: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has detected the presence of loose rocks at the landslide zone in Chandanapuri ghat, in the Sangamner area, of the busy Pune-Nashik highway.
The agency said unless the loose rocks are removed, the Pune-Nashik lane of the highway near the ghat would not be opened for traffic.
“While examining the landslide zone, we have found some loose boulders and rocks.Some of them are at a height of over 200 feet from the road. It would be dangerous to allow vehicles to ply on the lane without removing the loose rocks. We are taking precautions to ensure that there is no chance of the rocks falling,” said NHAI’s Nashik division officials.
A team is working on removing the loose rocks, the officials added. “It is a timeconsuming exercise as many of the rocks are big in size,” they said and added that at this juncture, it would not be possible to set a deadline for re-opening the lane. Even the iron safety mesh in the damaged section will have to be replaced. “We will complete the task as soon as possible,” the officials said.
The Pune-Nashik lane of the highway has been closed since Friday night, following a massive landslide at 11pm. The boulders and the debris came crashing down with the iron mesh, blocking the lane. The highway police have been using the Nashik-Pune lane for the movement of vehicles going both ways.
Friday’s landslide was the third one in the area in the past week. The earlier landslides, although minor in nature, had taken place on July 7 and 11. “Our initial finding is that the rain had loosened the soil, and debris started accumulating inside the mesh, which eventually gave way,” the sources said.
The highway police said although only one lane is being used, there have been no traffic jams so far.
“Our police personnel are regulating vehicular movement in the ghat section round the clock. There have been no traffic jams yet,” said the state highway police officials.