Tunnel work puts flyover at risk
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has written to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board to stop its tunneling work below the Basheerbagh flyover, fearing that there could be a repeat of the collapse that occurred five years ago when a portion of the Panjagutta flyover that was under construction caved in.
Basheerbagh is one of the most traffic-dense bridges in the city. Raising safety concerns, GHMC authorities have pointed out to the HMWS&SB and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority that the trenchless tunneling work under progress to lay the trunk main sewers was very close to the pillars of the Basheerbagh flyover. “Unless the foundations of the flyover and stability of the pillars are checked, tunneling work should not be taken up. The HMDA has constructed the flyover and it has details about its foundations and piers. We have written to the HMDA also to verify the foundation,” GHMC engineer-in-chief R. Dhan Singh said.
The Water Board has been digging to a depth of between 4m and 7m to lay the huge trunk main sewers, a project that has been going on for the last several years. The drainage pipes are being laid from Kacheguda, Nimboli Adda up to Basheerbagh and Liberty. The HMWS&SB officials, however, claimed that due care has been taken to ensure that the foundations of the Basheerbagh flyover were not affected by the trenchless tunneling work.
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