A busy road in Gurgaon cracked up like an eggshell on Friday afternoon, swallowing three vehicles.
Although a motorist narrowly escaped getting killed, all the officer in charge of roads could plead was, “It is a natural phenomenon and none should be held responsible for this.”
Hardly 48 hours after a Gurgaon couple had a close shave in a faulty high-rise lift, Millennium City’s complete disregard for the safety of its residents was once again on display.
A section of the 60-metre-wide road at Southcity Chowk, on Gurgaon Expressway, caved in amidst moving traffic around 12.30 pm on Friday.
It was left to the city police to salvage Millennium City’s self-respect by arresting a junior engineer of the Haryana Urban development Authority (HUDA) on charges of criminal negligence.
The mishap occurred at the HUDA approach road to Gurgaon Expressway near Southcity Chowk.
"A portion of the road caved in, forming a 30 feet long and five feet deep," said Jagdish Prasad, station house officer of the DLF (Sector 29) police station.
"A dumper truck, followed by a Hyundai i10 car and a three-wheeler fell into the pit. Fortunately, there were no passengers in the three-wheeler and the truck. The car owner, Ashutosh Chaturvedi suffered bruises on his face as his car hit the truck's rear.”
{{/usCountry}}"A dumper truck, followed by a Hyundai i10 car and a three-wheeler fell into the pit. Fortunately, there were no passengers in the three-wheeler and the truck. The car owner, Ashutosh Chaturvedi suffered bruises on his face as his car hit the truck's rear.”
{{/usCountry}}A case of criminal negligence was filed against HUDA JE Sanjiv Kumar and he was arrested.
According to police officials, a case of corruption could also be filed against HUDA officials as well as against the contractor if it is found during the investigation that substandard material was used in construction of the road.
HUDA’s superintending engineer Pankaj Kumra, however, claimed that an old sewerage line that was just five feet below the road surface and connected to nearby buildings had leaked.
“The leaking sewer water swept away the road’s sand bed, making a hollow under the road. It is a natural phenomenon and none should be held responsible,” he said.