BENGALURU: Residents living on 5th Cross, Shivaji Road, were in for a shock on Wednesday evening when water and slurry flooded half the street. A family of four residing on the ground floor was evacuated the same night and is expected to return a week later while a shop on the street has been closed.
Pressure applied on weak soil by the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Urja, drilling underground from Cantonment towards Shivajinagar, which forms part of the Nagawara-Kalena Agrahara Line, resulted in the slurry surging above. The leakage was stopped within four hours and Urja continued to drill with reduced pressure.
A fruit seller and his family residing on the ground floor had to shift to a relative’s house. Their relative Noor Jehan said, “Water which flooded half the street on Wednesday entered a shop just next to the house. The sump in the shop overflowed and water reached their house.” Visuals released on Twitter, show water entering all the rooms of the house with the furniture standing in water.
The family alerted the workers nearby and men deployed by contractor Larsen & Toubro and BMRCL staffers rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. “They cleaned the entire street, including an overflowing manhole and are completely restoring everything inside the damaged house and shop,” another family member said.
BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parwez told TNIE, “The family preferred to stay with a relative instead of the accommodation we provide in such cases. After the TBM crosses the area, we will do a complete check of everything.” The MD added that the incident occurred due to pressure in places where the soil is not strong.