NEW DELHI: A huge
cave-in on
Baba Kharak Singh Marg in Lutyens’ Delhi on Monday threw
traffic completely
out of gear on the stretches around
Connaught Place and
Gol Dak Khana on Tuesday as New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had to close the whole carriageway from Gol Market to CP during peak hours.
The police have advised commuters to avoid the stretch for at least one week. The traffic from Gol Dak Khana will be directed to CP through Ashoka Road, Pandit Pant Marg and Panchukian Road from Wednesday. Drivers have been advised to even avoid the parallel carriageway on
Baba Kharak Singh Marg to prevent further damage to a leaked pipeline that caused the cave-in.
On Tuesday, NDMC and other agencies tried to plug in the leak of old sewer lines laid several decades ago. The cave-in occurred at two spots — the main carriageway and divider near Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. An NDMC spokesperson said the cave-in had occurred due to leakage in old sewer lines combined with incessant rain during last week. “Our engineers are working even during the night to repair the damage. The repair work for old sewer lines may take 10-15 days,” he said.
A senior official supervising the work said that de-watering was being carried out on Tuesday evening and the line crossing the road would be diverted. “NDMC is laying the sewer line parallel to the road so that the main carriageway is freed and traffic will be opened by next Monday. At least two lanes will be opened by Wednesday morning while the work will go on in the other half of the carriageway,” he added.
The cave-in was witnessed on Monday and the traffic was immediately halted to prevent any accident. The disruption led to jams and delays on Ashoka Road, Panchkuian Road, Pandit Pant Marg and even up to
Talkatora Stadium.
