Bhairon Marg cave-in: Govt to make temporary way for interim relief

After a portion of central Delhi’s Bhairon Marg caved in, Delhi government said it will make a temporary way to accommodate heavy traffic on the stretch.

Two days after a portion of central Delhi’s Bhairon Marg caved in, Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) minister said the government will make a temporary way by Wednesday night to accommodate the heavy traffic on the stretch.

The traffic police say temporary repair at Bhairon Marg will provide partial relief from snarls. Jams are likely to continue at ITO (above) and central and east Delhi. (Ravi Choudhary/HT Photo)

“Visited Bhairon Road cave-in site. Temporary traffic way will be done tonight. Repairing of trunk sewage line in progress,” PWD minister Satyendar Jain tweeted.

PWD officials, however, said proper repair can only be started after the pipelines are repaired.

After the portion collapsed on Monday afternoon, creating a 20-feet deep crater, central, south, and east Delhi has witnessed traffic jams, where commuters were held for hours.

“ITO and Vikas Marg were the worst affected by the spillover. The traffic from the stretch was diverted to these roads creating high volume there. On Wednesday, the jams also spilled over to Geeta Colony and Laxmi Nagar. This temporary passage will give some respite to commuters but the jams are likely to continue,” said Muktesh Chander, special commissioner of police (traffic).

To avoid the gridlocks like those witnessed on Tuesday, traffic police increased deployment and made clear diversions that were regularly announced through radio and other media.

Delhi Jal Board chairman, Kapil Mishra, said that they are conducting a geographical survey of the roads in the area as cave-ins have become a frequent occurrence.

“We will be conducting a detailed survey of the area to ascertain the problem. The problem here was not of the sewer lines. The sewer line did not burst causing the road to cave-in but the road crashed causing the sewer line to crack. We are trying to complete the work by Monday,” said Mishra.

On Wednesday, Delhi Gate, India Gate roundabout, Mandi House, Pragati Maidan, Bhagwan Das Road, Tilak Marg, Vikas Marg and Noida Link Road were the worst hit by traffic snarls.

The jams were made worse by JNU students protesting at Rajendra Prasad Road. The road was closed for traffic and diversions added to the chaos.

National Highway-8, from Gurgaon to Dhaula Kuan, was also choked because over 100 jewellers hit the road, demonstrating against the implementation of 1% excise duty on non-silver jewellery.