The Pioneer 29.09.2010
Three more roads cave in
Staff Reporter | New Delhi
Three incidents of roads cave-ins, including near Motibagh Flyover, Chandni Chowk and Baba Kharag Singh Marg, were reported in the last 24 hours in the Capital on Tuesday. Since Friday, at least six roads have caved in across the city.
A truck belonging to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), carrying currency notes and coins worth `62.5 crore, was trapped in a pit on Tuesday afternoon following the caving in of a patch of road near Sisganj Gurdwara in Chandni Chowk. The area was soon cordoned off and barricaded by the police. It took three hours to pull out the vehicle from the ditch.
According to police officials, the truck was so heavy that even the steel wires of the cranes, which were pressed into service, snapped twice and the operation was delayed. “Only after a three-hour struggle, the team succeeded. The truck was carrying currency notes of Rs 60 crore and coins of Rs 2.5 crore and was supposed to deliver the notes and coins at Chandni Chowk branch of the State Bank of India. Steel wires of two cranes snapped while the rescue team was trying to drag the truck out. Thereafter another crane was called and finally after three hours exercise, it could be pulled out,” he said. It was further stated that the road collapsed due to damage in sewage pipelines, passing underneath the road. The road belongs to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). According to MCD officials, the repair work has been started by the civic body and the work will be completed within next 24 hours.
In another incident, a 15-feet crater was created when another road sunk near Seelampur flyover on GT Road in North-East Delhi in the afternoon. The police officials said a road connecting ISBT to Shahdara was reported to have caved in at around 2 pm. The traffic was blocked for few hours and marshals were deployed to navigate the flow of vehicles. “The incident happened on GT Road near Seelampur flyover. A part of the road collapsed in the adjoining drain, which led to a 15-feet crater. Due to the collapse, a wall adjoining the drain also fell. However, no casualty was reported,” a senior police official said. In a separate incident, a part of the Baba Kharak Singh Marg-Ashoka Road Junction, adjacent to the Gole Dakhana, also collapsed.
On late Monday night, a seven-feet-deep crater was formed on Rao Tula Ram Marg Road. The incident took place near the Motibagh flyover, where a truck loaded with sand was trapped.
