Ludhiana road cave-in: Deep Nagar area has seen four cave-ins in 2 years
A resident of Deep Nagar in Ludhiana said that with four road cave-ins reported in the last two years, there is always a fear at the back minds of residents.
Roads in the city are still prone to frequent road cave-ins and the Deep Nagar area has witnessed an astonishing four cave-ins in two years.
Two of the incidents, including the one on Thursday, were reported outside the old residence of mayor Balkar Sandhu. On October 24, a man and his son had a narrow escape after their car overturned when a portion of the road caved in at Haibowal. Similarly, the driver of a tipper had a close shave after a major portion of the road collapsed near the cremation ground in Model Town Extension on July 22 and the tipper got stuck in the pit.
A large portion of road constructed over five-decade-old brick sewer lines also caved in on October 6 and a truck got stuck in the pit in Guru Nanak Pura near Kailash Chowk.
A resident of Deep Naar, Nikhil said that with four incidents reported in the last two years, there is always a fear in the minds of the residents. “The authorities should check water and sewer lines in the entire area, so that no such incident is reported in future. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the incident that took place on Thursday, but others may not be so lucky.
Road cave-ins have also been reported in Dugri, Kaka Marriage palace Road, and Model Town Extension. A driver died after a road cave-in incident was reported at Kaka marriage palace road in 2011. In 2013, an 80-ft crater had been formed near the Dhami Eye Hospital after the sewer line collapsed.
First focus on basic infrastructure: Smart City Director
Blaming lack of workmanship in the municipal corporation (MC), one of the directors of Ludhiana Smart City Limited (LSCL) Sanjay Goel said that the department should first focus on developing the basic infrastructure in the city and only then can a smart city be developed.
Sarcastic digs abound on social media
Soon after the road cave-in was reported in Deep Nagar, residents took to social networking sites to slam authorities over their claims regarding the smart city mission. Taking a sarcastic dig, residents demanded a regular city rather than a smart city where roads cave-in.
No equipment to check underground leakage: MC
MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal said that there is no technology available to check leakage in the underground water and sewer lines and immediate action is taken whenever residents complain of depressions on roads. A proposal to change the decades old sewer line in different parts of the city is also in the pipeline.