Just days after the municipal corporation (MC) patched up a cave-in outside a house in Kitchlu Nagar by filling it with soil, the same stretch of road collapsed again on Thursday, this time leaving behind a massive crater nearly 25 feet deep and wide. The second cave-in in less than a week has heightened fears among residents, who say the recurring collapses now threaten the foundations of nearby houses.
The civic body suspects the collapse was triggered by damage to the DART (Deep Underground Sewerage System) trunk sewer, one of the city’s main underground sewer lines that carries sewage to treatment plants.
Municipal corporation commissioner Ojasvi Alankar said, “The sewer wall may have been damaged during the laying of optical fibre cables, allowing soil to gradually wash into the sewer and creating underground voids beneath the road until the surface eventually gave way. A detailed inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the exact cause, assess whether similar vulnerabilities exist elsewhere and fix responsibility.”
The first cave-in at the site was reported on August 3. Although the civic body filled the crater with soil on the same night, the temporary repair failed within days. The road collapsed again in the early hours of Thursday while a tractor-trolley laden with bricks was passing over the stretch. The vehicle escaped a major mishap and no injuries were reported.
Alankar said the inquiry would determine how the DART sewer was damaged and identify other vulnerable stretches to prevent similar incidents. He added that accountability would be fixed once the investigation was completed.
{{/usCountry}}Alankar said the inquiry would determine how the DART sewer was damaged and identify other vulnerable stretches to prevent similar incidents. He added that accountability would be fixed once the investigation was completed.
{{/usCountry}}For residents, however, the latest collapse has only deepened anxiety.
Kamal Singhania, a businessman outside whose house the cave-in occurred, said the repeated collapses had left his family worried about the structural safety of their home. “This is the second cave-in in days. The plinth of my house is now exposed. One may avoid a damaged road, but what about my house?” he said.
Singhania said the MC had assured him that a retaining wall would be constructed to protect the exposed plinth, but questioned whether such measures would address the underlying problem. “If the soil continues to erode because of damage to the sewer, a retaining wall alone will not solve the problem. The city needs a permanent solution instead of temporary repairs,” Singhania added.
The recurring cave-ins drew criticism from opposition leaders, who accused the civic administration of failing to address deteriorating underground infrastructure.
Former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu questioned the Punjab government’s accountability, saying repeated road collapses had put residents and their properties at risk.
Ludhiana MP and state Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also flagged the issue while addressing a press conference in the city on Thursday.
In a statement issued later in the day, the MC said mayor Inderjit Kaur and commissioner Alankar had ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the incident and directed officials to fix accountability.
The civic body said that if the investigation established that the DART sewer was damaged during the laying of underground utility cables, action would be initiated against the agency responsible.
The latest incident adds to a growing list of road cave-ins reported across the city over the past few months, raising concerns over the condition of Ludhiana’s underground infrastructure and the effectiveness of civic maintenance.
The incident briefly disrupted traffic on the stretch, following which the traffic police issued diversions. Vehicles travelling from PAU towards Hambran Road were advised to use the Kitchlu Nagar route, while traffic from Hambran Road towards Ferozepur Road was diverted via the road opposite Dandi Swami Chowk, connecting to Bharat Nagar Chowk before joining Ferozepur Road.