‘Cave-ins due to groundwater overuse’
With the rain beating down hard on the capital this season, the city roads have been caving-in left, right and centre. Even the posh New Delhi area has seen a spate of such incidents raising questions over the quality of roads, particularly as that they are being re-done and improved for the Commonwealth Games.
In the last few days, cave-ins were reported at Rajesh Pilot Marg, Ashok Road, Jaswant Singh Road, K.G. Marg, Ashram, Anand Vihar, BRT corridor, Greater Kailash-II, besides few other places.
The reason attributed by the NDMC for the cave-ins in the New Delhi area is existence of abandoned sewer lines, where water seeps in and loosens the earth underneath. Besides, puncturing of sewer lines by firms adopting trenchless cable-laying technology is also blamed.
Incidentally, so far this season no lives have been lost, as was the case last year when two persons died in Defence Colony area of south Delhi after their motorcycle fell into a caved-in portion of the road.
Experts, however, point out that faulty planning, excessive exploitation of ground water were major reasons for frequent cave-ins.
“Whenever there is any new construction, there is a tendency to raise land level to keep water logging at bay. And construction has been going on at an alarming pace all through the city for the past many years now. There is little space for the water to flow out into open spaces,” said a geologist from Delhi University.
He added that the drains along the roads are supposed to carry the entire quantum of water from the roads and nearby areas which is not possible.
Experts also maintain that with excessive exploitation of groundwater, the mud beneath is drying up reducing its binding strength. As a result, when water seeps in, it simply washes off the mud column beneath the surface of the road and makes that place hollow, which lead to the caving-in.
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