A portion of a newly laid road near Kapoor Hospital Chowk in Chhawani Mohalla caved in on Sunday, barely three days after the stretch was blacktopped following a pipeline repair by the municipal corporation (MC).
According to officials, the civic body’s operations and maintenance (O&M) cell had dug up the road three days ago to repair a leaking pipe beneath the stretch.
After the repair work, the section was filled with soil and gravel and later blacktopped as part of the ongoing road construction work from Kapoor Hospital Chowk to Buddha Nullah.
However, MC officials said the road caved in because the soil underneath was not given sufficient time to settle before blacktopping.
MC buildings and roads cell SDO Akshay said the civic body would dig up the affected stretch again to check for any leakage and carry out fresh repair work. “We will dig this tonight and check for leakage. If everything appears to be fine, we will cover it with a wet mix right away and follow it with blacktopping,” he said.
Residents and commuters expressed concern over the cave-in, stating that it posed a safety risk, particularly for two-wheeler riders.
“I am a regular commuter on the road. It was laid just three days back and today it has caved in. If it happens while someone is driving over the section, especially on a two-wheeler, it can lead to a fatal accident,” said Lalit Mourya, a resident of Chander Nagar.
Officials said similar cave-ins had appeared on the same road earlier due to leakage issues and rat burrows.
Rahul Verma, member of the Punjab State Road Safety Council, expressed concern over the MC O&M cell’s ability to permanently fix leakages.
“This must be because the leakage was not completely stopped. This is the case at several spots in the city. Once a pipeline starts leaking, cavities on roads become a recurring problem,” he said.
