BMC says such incidents can’t be prevented till Brihanmumbai Stormwater Disposal System project is complete.
After potholes, there is now a new menace to face on city roads. With underground pipelines resulting in rapid soil erosion below the roads, cave-ins have become increasingly frequent.
On Thursday, at Shrawan Yeshwant Chowk in Kalachowki, Cotton Green, a cavity developed early in the morning, signaling the start of a cave-in. However, the civic department acted quickly, filling it up as soon as they received a complaint.
Since 2008, the city has witnessed nine incidents of road cave-ins, of which two were reported last year. Until the Brihanmumbai Stormwater Disposal System (BRIMSTOWAD) project is completed, plying in south Mumbai and surrounding areas is being deemed as not too safe.
The project, which involves the replacement of the old drainage system in the city and is expected to address the problem of road cave-ins, is expected to complete by 2012. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) itself has admitted that such cave-ins are difficult to predict and cannot be avoided.
In February 2010, the collapse of an underground drain caused the road to cave in at Shrawan Yeshwant Chowk, Kalachowki. The collapse caused the soil to be washed away and left a cavity under the surface of the road. On Thursday, the pit that was filled appeared only 10 metres away from that spot.
The ward office attended to the spot before it came to the notice of the public. However, it now denies that such an incident occurred. "It was actually a pothole. Some paver blocks were dislocated and it created a pothole at the spot," said an officer from the F-South ward.
The storm water drains and sewerage pipes in the city are more than 100 years old. In the event of a leakage, water pressure increases, causing the soil to erode. If the base is hollow, even the best roads will cave in," explained a senior official from BMC's road department.
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