Delhi: Road caves in near National Law University, traffic hit

Technical teams of civic agencies have been called in to assess the damage and carry out repairs, the Delhi Traffic Police said

A major sinkhole appeared on a road near the National Law University in Dwarka, west Delhi on Sunday morning due to waterlogging following heavy rainfall, police said. The damaged portion of the road in Sector 16B was barricaded and filled with debris and mud, which also resulted in traffic disruptions in the area, officials said.

A portion of a road caved in after heavy rainfall at Dwarka in New Delhi on Sunday. (PTI)

Technical teams of civic agencies have been called in to assess the damage and carry out repairs, the Delhi Traffic Police said. Preliminary findings suggest that waterlogging and structural surface weakness may have contributed to the cave-in.

The caved in portion of the road was surrounded by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) barricades. In a statement, a DDA official said, “The information about the incident was received on Saturday night after heavy rainfall. DDA staff reached the spot immediately and immediately cordoned off the site due to safety concerns. On inspection, it was found that the Delhi Jal board sewer manhole was damaged under the road. This manhole was long since due for repairs. Delhi Jal Board staff promised to repair it ASAP. DDA has filled the caved-in portion promptly on temporarily basis and final repairs will be done after DJB sewer line repairing work is completed.”

Dwarka and Janakpuri in west Delhi have seen multiple cases of road and footpath cave-ins this monsoon season. There are several reasons why road sites in this region are repeatedly damaged: bad road laying techniques due to which the road layers and soil underneath are not properly consolidated and compacted during the construction process and the holes are abruptly filled with loose soil which collapses due to rain water, damaged water or sewer lines beneath roads due to which water seeps in and the lower sub layer becomes soft. In some rare instances, roads are also damaged due to depletion of the groundwater table which makes the underneath soil hollow, and pressure from rainwater pushes away the soil underneath and this layer gets eroded, making the road vulnerable.

The sinkhole also led to political sparring with AAP leaders highlighting the poor state of road infrastructure. “This is the magic of four engine government,” said leader of opposition Atishi in a post on X.