NEW DELHI: A four-wheeler got stuck on a busy road in Kalkaji on Wednesday leaving the commuters distraught and stuck for hours. The stretch, a busy route connecting Kalkaji, CR Park and Nehru Place, is
another addition to the number of cave-ins, which have been happening in the city since the last two years.
Advocate Robin Raju, a regular commuter on this stretch, described the chaos which occurred after the cave-in and said that the busy road had left everyone paralysed. “The traffic moved at a snail’s pace after the incident, leaving commuters annoyed,” he added.
Raju added that there have been several such cave-ins in southeast Delhi. The latest one has only added to the woes of the people. According to a senior Public Works Department (PWD) official, the cave-in was filled with bricks and cement bags later in the evening and the area was covered with traffic cones.
“We have deployed the concerned officials to look into the matter. Some maintenance work in the sewerage line was on and a leakage led to the collapse,” added the official.
He added that usually because of the leakages in the sewer lines, such cave-ins had been reported which was nothing to worry about. However, there have been a number of caves-in in the last two years, and the residents have been facing difficulties due to such instances.
A huge cave-in was seen in Dwarka in July in 2021, followed by one under the IIT flyover. A smaller one was also seen in Adhchini and one near a metro station in Dwarka. The National Child Development Council (NCDC) had also written to PWD Minister Satyendra Jain last December, describing the increasing number of potholes from Govindpuri Metro station to Sangam Vihar and had asked him to repair the roads before the schools reopen.
“It is stated that travelling on roads full of potholes is not just giving an invitation for accidents to occur, but it will also cause back problems amid other issues to school-going children in particular,” the letter stated. The NCDC letter also mentioned the data shared by the ministry which stated that there were 1,357 potholes and in about 309 locations, patchwork was required.