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Fresh cave-in Ludhiana, this time on busy Pakhowal Road
Residential areas lie on both sides of the busy stretch, with roads branching off in different directions, making a sudden collapse a potential risk to motorists, pedestrians and local residents
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A portion of busy Pakhowal Road near Aristocrat Gallery and Imperial Hotel caved in on Monday, raising concerns among residents over the quality of the road and the condition of the underground infrastructure.
The latest cave-in comes despite no significant rainfall in the past couple of days. Most of around 10 cave-ins reported in the city this year have occurred after rains, with the latest one reported at Sharma Halwai Chowk a few days ago.
Residential areas lie on both sides of the busy stretch, with roads branching off in different directions, making a sudden collapse a potential risk to motorists, pedestrians and local residents.
Activist Arvind Sharma said the repeated cave-ins raised questions over the condition of the road and the city’s underground infrastructure. He said the road was repaired recently and yet another collapse had occurred.
The recurring incidents, he said, warranted an inspection of the sewer lines, drainage system, road gullies and other underground infrastructure to identify and permanently rectify the underlying problem. Sharma also raised questions over the quality of road construction, sewerage and drainage arrangements and maintenance. He pointed out that several VIPs, elected representatives, MLAs and councillors reside in or around the area.
“If such a prominent and busy road can repeatedly develop cave-ins, the condition of roads in ordinary residential areas can easily be understood,” he said.
Sharma also urged the municipal corporation to undertake necessary cleaning and repairs before the next spell of rain and ensure that the underlying problem is permanently addressed.
Municipal corporation commissioner Ojasvi Alankar did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking a comment.
