Kitchlu Nagar road collapse occurred on August 6: Ludhiana MC identifies 3 firms but fails to fix responsibility for cave-in

Civic body officials had then said their assessment suggested that the dart sewer was punctured during the laying of optical-fibre cables, triggering gradual soil erosion beneath the road, hollowing it out and eventually causing the collapse

More than a month after a major road cave-in in Kitchlu Nagar, the municipal corporation is yet to identify the optical-fibre company that damaged the dart sewer beneath the road, despite earlier assurances that the agency responsible would be traced and the repair costs recovered.

The road in the Kitchlu Nagar area gave way on August 6. (HT)

The cave-in on August 6 created a crater nearly 20 feet deep and wide. Civic body officials had then said their assessment suggested that the dart sewer was punctured during the laying of optical-fibre cables, triggering gradual soil erosion beneath the road, hollowing it out and eventually causing the collapse.

The civic body had also said it would identify the company responsible for damaging the sewer and initiate legal action against it. However, more than a month later, the MC is yet to establish which company was responsible.

“We have got information on three companies that laid cables on the road. But so far, the investigation is still ongoing to find out which among them damaged the dart sewer,” said MC commissioner Ojasvi Alankar.

The first cave-in at the spot was reported on August 3. The sinkhole was relatively shallow and narrow and was covered immediately. Three days later, as a trolley passed over the stretch, a larger section of the road caved in, creating the massive crater.

The collapse also extended towards the wall of a three-storey house along the road, exposing the plinth and putting its structural safety at risk.

The MC took two days to construct a reinforced-concrete foundation beneath the plinth and another two weeks to repair the dart sewer, the manhole portal and the road.

MC officials had claimed that the cost of the damage and repairs would be recovered from the company responsible for puncturing the dart sewer and triggering the collapse.

The Kitchlu Nagar incident came about a month after a similar cave-in near Sagoo Chowk, where the MC had also attributed the collapse to a damaged dart sewer wall. Soil erosion beneath the road following the damage had eventually caused the road to cave in.