Team Herald
PONDA: A three-meter-long portion of the concrete retaining wall along the four-lane Dhavlim- Farmagudi Highway collapsed into the front yard of a house late Monday evening, reportedly due to constant vibrations from the heavy vehicular traffic plying on the stretch. A two-year-old child who was playing outside the house had a close shave, as the concrete slab came crashing down mere seconds after the child left the spot, said Kavlem Sarpanch Manjula Naik, who inspected the site after the incident.
Locals who gathered at the house belonging to Shashikant Kavlekar, expressed concern over the substandard build quality of the 100-metre-long wall, and said that the structure was weak as it was not reinforced with bonding or steel rods.
“The houses here are over 100 years old, and the highway and this weak wall is a new construction. I will write to the National Highway Authority and ask them to inspect this stretch and install strong steel railings here,” said Sarpanch Naik.
The locals said that a pathway leading to several houses runs below the retaining wall, and expressed worry that more of the wall may collapse, posing a hazard to people living in the vicinity.
