PRAYAGRAJ, Sept. 9 -- The construction company that built Package-2 of the Ram Van Gaman Marg has been debarred for one year after cracks appeared in over 115 locations along a 350-metre stretch of the newly constructed four-lane road near Shringverpur, Prayagraj. The Ram Van Gaman Path, a religious corridor connecting Ayodhya to Chitrakoot through cities including Pratapgarh, Shringverpur Dham, and Kaushambi's Rajapur, developed these structural issues prior to its inauguration. The matter escalated to the Union ministry of road transport and highways after a video circulating on social media highlighted the alleged substandard workmanship. Following discussions on Monday between ministry secretary V Umashankar and Omkar Bharti, the superintending engineer of the public works department's (PWD) national highways wing, the PWD moved to debar the New Delhi-based contractor. The firm has received a formal notice requiring the completion of repairs within 15 days. "If the repair work is not completed within the stipulated period, it will be executed through a third party. Besides, a penalty equivalent to 20% of the cost of the affected stretch will be imposed on the company as per the agreement," said Vishal Seth, assistant engineer. Seth attributed the cracks to the 350-metre stretch at Shringverpur, which he stated were exacerbated by continuous rainfall. "The ministry is monitoring the situation continuously. The company has been given 15 days to fill the cracks," he added. Package-2 involved the construction of a 14-km four-lane road from Avtarpur (Pratapgarh) to Shringverpur at a cost of Rs.407 crore. A separate 1,200-metre six-lane bridge over the Ganga at Shringverpur is designated under Package-3. The defects were identified late on September 6, prompting executive engineer Ravindra Pal Singh to reprimand the firm's representatives. A two-hour inspection was subsequently conducted after 11:30 pm to investigate the cause. By Monday, Singh and a team of engineers visited Shringverpur to oversee the initiation of repairs, which will be subject to regular inspection over the next fortnight. Meanwhile, repair work has also commenced on a section of the corridor in Kaushambi. Under Package-3, which covers the 25-km stretch from Shringverpur to Kaushambi, a portion of the service road near Ambawa village caved in due to rain-induced soil saturation. Singh clarified that there was no damage to the main carriageway, and officials expect these repairs to be completed within two days....