A massive road cave-in near Krishna Mandir caused after heavy rainfall on Tuesday reignited concerns of commuter safety as well as the civic body’s apparent inability to strengthen the city’s infrastructure.
The cave-in was attributed to the collapse of the decades-old brick sewerage line near Krishna Mandir, Model Town. The same gave way to a 15-ft deep and 20-ft wide crater in the middle of the road.
Notably, this marks the sixth cave-in caused by a sewerage pipeline collapse in the last five years. The old brick sewerage line, installed nearly 40 years ago, extends from Haibowal to Ishmeet Chowk.
Upon receiving the alert, municipal corporation (MC) officials closed the affected stretch of road and initiated repair efforts on the sewerage line. The work is anticipated to take more than a week to complete.
Opinder Kaur, a resident of Model Town, expressed her concerns over the increasing frequency of such incidents, saying, “They disrupt daily life and pose health hazards. A similar road cave-in near Krishna Mandir occurred a few months back and still MC has failed to check the old brick sewerage lines.”
Speaking of the commuters’ ordeal, Arvind Sharma, another resident, said, “I use the Krishna Mandir lane regularly to reach my home. On Tuesday, I was surprised to see a substantial road cave-in. Unfortunately, such incidents have become all too common. They disrupt our daily commute.”
{{/usCountry}}Speaking of the commuters’ ordeal, Arvind Sharma, another resident, said, “I use the Krishna Mandir lane regularly to reach my home. On Tuesday, I was surprised to see a substantial road cave-in. Unfortunately, such incidents have become all too common. They disrupt our daily commute.”
{{/usCountry}}Concerned city residents have also questioned the civic body’s inability to conduct a comprehensive survey of the brick sewerage lines that were installed approximately 40 years ago.
Addressing the issue, MC executive engineer Ekjot Singh said, “The old brick sewerage lines sustained damage near Krishna Mandir road on Tuesday afternoon. Our team immediately mobilised to address the issue during the nighttime hours to expedite repairs at that specific location.”
“The repair work is estimated to be completed within a week, given that the majority of the work is scheduled during the night and the department is working to replace the old brick sewerage lines with new ones soon,” he added.
In 2018, a portion of the road had a cave-in at Kaka Marriage Palace Road after the collapse of sewer lines, while another was reported from Deep Singh Nagar in 2021. Similar cave-ins were witnessed at Kaka Marriage Palace road, near Shastri nagar railway crossing and the Sua road 2022 as well. Earlier in the year, a crater had also come up near Krishna Mandir.