Cave-in on Ashoka Road reveals bigger slump

NEW DELHI: A cave- in on a footpath on central Delhi’s Ashoka Road — the mouth of a much larger slump under the road — after the recent heavy rains forced authorities

NEW DELHI: A cave- in on a footpath on central Delhi’s Ashoka Road — the mouth of a much larger slump under the road — after the recent heavy rains forced authorities to cordon the area.

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The tar road was barely holding up and under it was a cavern, large enough to hold two or three men, said officials.

The New Delhi Municipal Council cordoned the road from India Gate towards Ashoka Road (in front of bungalow number 14, Windsor), caused traffic snarls around the area.

Traffic will be slow until the road is repaired, said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Garima Bhatnagar.

“The repair will take a few days. We have put up warning signs for the safety of commuters. The pipes will be repaired or changed as per requirement,” a senior NDMC official said.

In the past six months, there have been 10 cave-ins in the heart of the city, a VIP zone.

Four were on Kasturba Gandhi Marg, a busy commercial stretch. The underground pipelines were so bad that the entire network had to be changed. It took over a month to finish.

In March, a portion of the Bhairon Marg, near Pragati Maidan Metro station, fell through. Traffic hold ups lasted many hours.

“Cave-ins happen when the surface of roads is not properly rolled and the lower layers haven’t been levelled properly. As soon as water gets in or any sort of overload happens, the portion crashes,” said SM Sarin, former director of the Central Road Research Institute.