Slope protection work on 39-km Parwanoo-Solan road begins soon

Ambika Sharma

Solan, March 19

Jammu-based SRM Contractors Limited will soon begin slope protection work on the Parwanoo-Solan section of the National Highway (NH)-5. As many as 26 critical locations have been identified on the 39-km stretch where various slope protection works would be undertaken. The Rs 1.45-crore project is slated to be completed in 18 months once it begins.

Five companies had come forward to bid for this project, but SRM Contractors was finalised by the NHAI owing to their expertise.

NHAI Project Director Anand Dahiya said: “Jammu-based SRM Contractors Limited has been granted the letter of intent on March 11 for undertaking slope protection on the Parwanoo-Solan section. The work will begin once all formalities are completed within a month’s time.”

A detailed project report has been devised after a marathon exercise encompassing study of the slope by roping in various experts. The executing company will also undertake need-based technical interventions to ensure stability of the slope. The Parwanoo-Solan stretch of the National Highway suffered colossal damage due to 426 per cent excess rain that had pounded various parts of Solan district last monsoon.

As against the normal rainfall of 76.6 mm, 249.6 mm average rain was received in the state from July 1 to 11. Cloudbursts in the vicinity of the Parwanoo-Solan highway resulted in flashfloods and massive landslides, which had severally damaged the highway.

As many as 176 defects were identified over an area of 6,485 m, which was affected by the landslides due to torrential rains on a 20-km stretch from Parwanoo to Dharampur. The existing slope angle varied from 50 to 85 degrees with the slope height varying from 10 to 100 m.

An expert committee led by RK Pandey, former ADG, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, had examined the damaged sections of Parwanoo-Dharampur section of the NH-5. Experts from the Border Roads Organisation and Engineers India Limited, a leading engineering consultancy as well as Satluj Vidyut Jal Nigam, had also given their suggestions on how to stablise the slopes.

Apart from this, geo-technical investigations of vulnerable strata were undertaken by experts from IIT-Patna. Investigations like boring in the soil and rocks to ascertain various aspects like soil consistency, groundwater level, etc., were also done to devise sustainable engineering techniques to arrest reoccurring landslides.

26 critical points identified

• As many as 26 critical points have been identified on the 39-km stretch where various slope protection works would be undertaken
• As many as 176 defects were identified over an area of 6,485 m, which was affected by the landslides due to torrential rains on a 20-km stretch from Parwanoo to Dharampur
• The existing slope angle varied from 50 to 85 degrees with the slope height varying from 10 to 100 metres