Road caves in at Kemps Corner

A four-metre long portion of the August Kranti Road opposite Cumbala Hill hospital near Kemps Corner caved in on Monday afternoon disrupting the traffic flow on the road. The cave-in that occurred on the side-strip of the road slowed down traffic throughout the day as the affected portion was closed for repair.

A four-metre long portion of the August Kranti Road opposite Cumbala Hill hospital near Kemps Corner caved in on Monday afternoon disrupting the traffic flow on the road. The cave-in that occurred on the side-strip of the road slowed down traffic throughout the day as the affected portion was closed for repair.

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Civic officials said the road had weakened after the nine-inch wide water pipeline located underneath developed a crack. The leakage caused the bottom surface of the road to moisten and cave in.

Though work on replacing the ruptured pipeline is likely to go on till late into Monday night, officials said that water supply in the area would not be affected.

“The pipeline was old and had developed a crack, and the leakage moistened the base surface. The road developed a depression and sunk in. Water supply will be normal on Tuesday,” said Parag Masurkar, assistant municipal commissioner of D ward, under which the area falls.

The portion was immediately barricaded for repair work. “JCB vehicle was sent to the spot to dig a pit to arrest the leakage,” added Masurkar.

“There was no leakage in the pipeline in the morning. When we were summoned to the spot in the afternoon, the pipeline was already broken and we were informed that the JCB used at the site had ruptured it,” said an official from the water works department.

South Mumbai has been grappling with many instances of road cave-ins in the past few years owing to old utilities and British-era storm water drains.