In a courtroom heavy with frustration and disbelief, the Kerala High Court on Friday delivered a scathing rebuke to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) after freshly laid stretches of National Highway-66—meant to be a showcase of modern infrastructure—buckled and crumbled under just a week of rain.
The collapse, reported from multiple districts including Thrissur, Malappuram, and Kannur, turned public concern into public outrage, prompting Justice Devan Ramachandran to pose a pointed question: Does the NHAI still trust the contractors it hired?
This was not a rhetorical flourish. The judge, visibly exasperated, reminded the authorities that the people of Kerala had endured years of construction delays with the quiet hope that something enduring and safe would eventually be delivered. That hope now lies buried under cracked asphalt and rain-soaked debris.
The hearing—part of a long-standing case on road safety—was anything but routine. The court demanded that the NHAI submit a full report explaining the damage and the steps it intends to take, swiftly and transparently.
NHAI’s representative claimed water damage was the primary culprit and confirmed that punitive action had already begun: the companies responsible for the failing sections have been blacklisted, and structural revisions are in motion.
But the judge wasn’t satisfied with lip service. He insisted that accountability and urgency be more than just buzzwords in a file note. “Public trust in infrastructure,” he warned, “is not a renewable resource.”
With state officers already dispatched to the damaged sites, and stakeholders pulled into the fold, the next hearing promises more than just updates—it demands answers. Because when a brand-new highway can’t outlast a few monsoon days, the issue isn’t the weather. It’s what was buried beneath the surface all along.