Ashoka Buildcon share price slumped by 6% during Friday’s trading session after the company announced that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has momentarily barred it from entering into current and future bids.
The NHAI’s suspension will last for one month or until the Expert Committee concludes its investigation regarding the collapse of two precast PSC girders on the six-lane elevated corridor from Aroor to Thuravoor Thekku, part of NH-66.
One of the girders fell onto a commercial vehicle, resulting in a fatality for the driver. Ashoka Buildcon indicated that it received a show-cause notice from the NHAI on Wednesday, November 26.
Ashoka Buildcon announced that it received a show-cause notice from the NHAI on Wednesday, November 26.
The company firmly refutes the claim that public safety was compromised. According to Ashoka Buildcon, the incident arose from sudden and unexpected circumstances that cannot be linked to any failure in the company’s safety measures, as stated in an exchange filing on Thursday.
They explained that the incident was due to a sudden malfunction of a hydraulic jack, which occurred because of damage to the internal seal. This led to a girder falling onto a moving goods vehicle that had entered an area marked as a prohibited construction zone.
Ashoka Buildcon emphasized that it has continuously enforced and upheld all safety measures and protocols consistent with industry standards, contractual obligations, and relevant codes and safety regulations.
It stated that it is currently evaluating the financial consequences of the incident and will inform the exchanges about this in a timely manner. It also noted that all of its other operations continue to be unaffected.
(more to come)