‘80-yr-old utilities need change’
The cave-in on Peddar Road on Thursday may not be the last of the road’s problems. The British-era underground utilities, which are way past their prime, are set to be the bane of all Pedder Road’s troubles.
According to the BMC officials, considering the growing traffic on the road, these 80-year-old utilities are in dire need of replacement. “The wear and tear has taken a heavy toll on their utilisation. Unless they are replaced by new lines, Peddar Road residents and commuters will continue to endure cave-in problems,” said a BMC official, on condition of anonymity.
On Wednesday, a part of Gamadia Juntion at Peddar Road caved in due to leakage from underground storm water drains creating a 1.5 feet crater. This had created severe traffic jams in the entire area. The repair work has been on by closing down one lane of Pedder Road.
“But this is only a temporary arrangement,” said a senior civic official. “To resolve Peddar Road’s problems permanently, the underground utilities need to be replaced once and for all. For this it has to be closed down anything between 10 days to a month. But there is no alternate road available to divert traffic from Peddar Road. Considering the movement of VVIPs on this road, it is highly impossible to obtain permission from the traffic police for such a long period.”
He added that the presence of a coastal road or a sealink would have eased the pressure on the Peddar Road traffic. “However, since there is no such option, we have to carry out repair works as and when the road caves in,” he said.
According to the IIT survey in 2000, everyday 94,000 vehicles ply on Peddar Road. The number is expected to have doubled in the last 12 years.
Additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta said, “We have called a meeting of all utility officials on Tuesday next week to work out a solution on this issue. The entire underground utility network needs to be studied before taking any decision on the replacement of the lines.”
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