Ambience underpass, Sohna elevated road get green light

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and its contractors have finally received a go-ahead from the administration to resume work on two projects in the city — the Sohna elevated road and the Ambience Mall underpass and elevated U-turn at Shankar Chowk. The nod comes with riders and is subject to adherence to a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) mandated by the state government, as well as an inspection of the sites.

According to NHAI, the administration has allowed it to resume work with limited workforce, provided that the workers, supervisors and all those engaged stick to social distancing, sanitisation and preventive care norms as directed by the Union ministry of home affairs.

“We’ve received permission. Work will resume with 50% of the workforce that is available on site. It will gradually pick up,” an NHAI official said. On April 20, confusion prevailed at the project sites after labourers were stopped by police, who said since Gurugram is a Covid-19 hotspot, permission was needed from the administration.

“The application is approved for permission to operate during lockdown period subject to physical inspection and submission of all necessary documents in support of their claim (declaration, SOP, photographs, etc) before commencement of actual operation,” read the permission order issued by the administration on Friday evening.

It also sent a comprehensive list of what will and won’t be allowed to the NHAI contractors. Once they make arrangements as mandated in the SOP, the administration will inspect the sites and work can then gather pace.

The SOP includes conditions such as mandatory wearing of masks during work, regular sanitisiation and no sharing of gear like helmets and jackets, signage about awareness and precautions, and hand-washing once every 2 hours, among others.

“Permission to start work has come with a lot of terms and conditions. We need to first make arrangements accordingly, after which the administration will inspect the site. If they are satisfied, we’ll get the final go-ahead to start, otherwise they’ll issue more directions that we’ll have to implement,” said an official of Oriental Engineering, the contractor for the Sohna elevated road project.

While the Sohna road project awaits inspections before resuming work, work on the elevated U-turn at Shankar Chowk began on Saturday as they are already following social distancing norms and have only 20 workers at the site, including supervisors and engineers. Work on the Ambience Mall underpass, however, faces several challenges, as it requires machines which need permission from traffic police, as well as a go-ahead from the Delhi government.

“Our site requires minimum workforce, as it is mostly machine-based work. We have begun work on the elevated U-turn, but the work on the underpass needs a few more clearances. Our machinery and girders are at IFFCO Chowk and we’ve written to the traffic department to allow their movement. Machines that need to be deployed on the Ambience Mall side will require crossing Sirhaul border and then entering Gurgaon. With Delhi sealed, there’s uncertainty on when and how work on that side will happen,” said an official of RK Contractor.

TOI