Tunnel work at Margoog stopped after employees ‘dis-engaged’ by company

Ramban, Oct 20: The four lane project’s twin tunnel work at Maroog between Ramban –Banihal section has been stopped as employees and workers were allegedly dis-engaged enmass by the construction company.

The tunnel work which was going on the twin parallel tunnels of 2200 meters each on the Srinagar- Jammu National Highway) at Maroog in Ramban, on Ramban-Banihal section has been stopped for past 15 days. The Sub Contractor company Kuberaa Project Ltd (KPL) engaged in its construction, had disengaged its all employees en- masse without giving them any prior notice and on the pretext of indiscipline only.

All these terminated employees of KPL have been protesting at the construction site for past many days.

Twin tunnels of 2200 meters each are being constructed on the National Highway-44 between Marog (north portal) and Seri (South portal). When completed it would eliminate the sharp curves, reduce some distance and ease the traffic on National Highway.

According to the terminated, Project Manager, Kuberaa Project Ltd.(KPL Prabhat Gupta, this company had begun the construction on the south portal of this twin tunnel in October 2023 after being sub-let by the TATA Construction Company which was awarded by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

He alleged that due to the financial mismanagement and thereby the crisis arisen the KPL sent an e-mail message to all its employees regarding the termination of all the employees without any prior notice “because of misbehaviour with superior officers and poor performance” and then another -e-mail message on October 15 was sent to the employees asking them to accept the condition of the KPL and then they will be given a one month notice.

The senior construction Manager, Sudhir Kumar alleged that the KPL did not use the Rs 44 crore received from TATA Company properly and spent only Rs18 crore which started the problems.

He alleged that the KPL which was a small construction company and had no experience of constructing big projects like tunnels and surreptitiously emerged as a Limited Company from nowhere without fulfilling the mandatory conditions.

He alleged that although the Project Director,Sanjay Kumar, had made an agreement with the workers that they will be given a whole six month final installment yet they were not given despite receiving the amount from the TATA Co.

This has not only rendered more than 150 employees including senior managers, labourers and other staffers besides contractors and vendors but also stalled a very important national project which is the dream project of Prime Minister, Narinder Modi, thereby delaying the widening (4-laning)work of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the life line of Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile workers threatened to come on the road and block the highway if their demand is not met soon.

Project Director, NHAI, Project Installation Unit Ramban was not available for his comments. However, a manager of NHAI said that administration is trying its level best to make a reconciliation between the KPL management and the workers and hope of a solution soon.