Two weeks on, new road in Chennai caves in due to damaged underground pipelines
CHENNAI: The road on Kuppusamy Street near Anna Salai in Chinna Porur has caved in just 15 days after it was newly laid. The cave-in was caused by damaged underground metro water and sewage pipelines. As a temporary measure, tankers have been deployed to meet water needs of residents.
On Sunday a small pit appeared after a burst in the pipeline and metro water officials repaired the leak and filled the site with sand. However, on Tuesday, the road caved in and exposed major damage to the underground sewage pipeline. The repair work has been ongoing for three days.
Residents noted that this is not an isolated incident. A similar cave-in occurred six months back just a few metres away on Hospital Road. While metro water officials completed repairs at the site only recently, the recurrence of such issues has raised serious infrastructure concerns.
According to an official, zone 11 alone has witnessed at least 10 similar cave-ins in the last few months.
“Residents in more than 120 housing units in the area are suffering without proper water supply. The road is completely inaccessible, even during emergencies. My shop is located right in front of the cave-in, and business has taken a hit. I had to throw away 30 unsold milk packets yesterday because no one was coming to buy them due to the road condition,” said Muthukutty B, a shopkeeper.
A metro water official assured that leakages are being addressed and repairs would be completed within two days. However, metro water officials attributed the collapse to issues with stormwater drains, a claim denied by corporation authorities.
Ward 151 councillor S Shankar Ganesh noted that poor construction of sewer drains years ago had left the area vulnerable to water leakages, loosening the soil and causing road collapses. He explained that the ongoing repair work has been delayed due to the recent rains.