Civic body sources explain why they can’t avoid road cave ins — like the one at Kalachowkie yesterday — for another two years
The road cave in at Kalachowkie yesterday uncovered a disturbing truth. The BMC can do nothing to prevent it, at least for the next two year yesterday’s incident took place at around 6.30 am, seconds after a school bus loaded with children passed by.
The hole in the ground was approximately 30 feet by 10 feet wide and 10-foot deep. “We are lucky that there was hardly any traffic at that time. A major accident was averted,” said Shailesh Phanse, who runs a telephone booth next to the cave in site.
BMC sources say
But the worst was yet to come. Later in the day, a senior official from the BMC’s road department told MiD DAY, “It isn’t the fault of our roads. The utility pipelines under the roads are creating the problem. The water mains and sewerage pipes are more than 100 years old. The proximity to the sea hastens their corrosion. Once there is a leakage, the water pressure is so high that the soil erodes fast. If the base is hollow, even the best road will cave in. We can’t really do anything.
“To complicate matters, we don’t have maps of the underground utilities, which is the biggest hurdle. The BMC is doing GIS mapping. Once that’s done, we will be able to tackle this problem.”
The GIS mapping, he said, would take at least two more years. It also seems to be the only hope. The other strategies that the BMC has tried so far are all stuck.
Mayor blames…
However, Mayor Shradha Jadav blamed the negligence of the municipal authorities. “Thankfully, there were no major accidents. Usually, the road is always crowded. The authorities should find out the cause and take proper action,” she said.
The BMC’s director for engineering, special engineering and projects, A T Shintre, said a committee would be formed to determine the cause.
“There are many underground utilities. Leakages in any of these could have caused soil around the area to loosen and erode, thus, forming a cavity between the utilities and the road surface. However, we could not see any water accumulation below the portion that caved in,” he added.
The BMC hopes to complete the repair work within a week. Needless to say, traffic will have to be re-routed during this period, leading to more traffic snarls.
Did you know?
This is the eighth road collapse in the city in the last two years. The last one was in September 2009 at Peddar Road.
Source : http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/feb/230210-bmc-kalachowkie-road-cave-in.htm