Massive sinkhole in Ludhiana; house evacuated, traffic suspended

A massive sinkhole on a Ludhiana road led to the evacuation of a house and traffic diversions. An inquiry is underway, with initial assessments pointing to optical fibre cable work near a sewer line as a possible cause for the road collapse.

A massive sinkhole, several feet deep, appeared on a road in the Kitchlu Nagar area of Ludhiana on Wednesday, prompting the local administration to order the immediate evacuation of an adjacent house and the total suspension of traffic on the stretch.

Probe Launched to Determine Cause

Municipal Corporation (MC) Ludhiana Commissioner Ojaswi Alankar visited the site and stated that a technical investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the major road cave-in. Preliminary assessments by engineers suggest that the damage may be linked to the laying of optical fibre cables near the city's sewer infrastructure.

Speaking to reporters, Alankar said, "Look, this is a matter of inquiry as to what the actual reason was and how such a major road cave-in occurred. But at the same time, what appears preliminary to us from looking at the site and what the engineers have told me is that some optical fibre cables were laid near our brick sewer."

The Commissioner added that it remains unclear when the cables were laid, but emphasised that the work might have compromised a manhole. "Now, I don't know whether they were laid three years ago or six months ago--that is a matter of inquiry. It also needs to be seen who laid them, as it isn't clear just by looking at the wires. But it is possible that due to that, a manhole was damaged, leading to leakage, which started the erosion, and that is why the road caved in," he explained.

Resident Safety and Accountability

Addressing the safety of residents, the MC chief confirmed that the portion of the road was declared unsafe. "We have already informed them [the residents of the adjacent house] that this portion is unsafe, so please evacuate it," he noted.

Alankar further assured, "Responsibility will definitely be fixed if someone has damaged our trunk line infrastructure because it causes harassment and inconvenience to the public."

Traffic Diversions in Place

On the ground, traffic police have cordoned off the area and diverted vehicles to alternative routes to prevent any accidents. ADCP Traffic Gurpreet Kaur Purewal stated that diversions have been implemented at Rajpura Chowk and the cut near Popley Sweets leading toward Old DMC.

"As soon as this came to my notice around 9:00 or 9:30 AM, we immediately implemented traffic diversions from Rajpura Chowk and the cut near Popley Sweets that leads towards Old DMC. At the current spot, the force from the PAU Police Station is deployed to prevent the crowd from moving forward. Our necessary diversions are active, and they will remain in place until a solution is found. I request the public who usually take the route from PAU Gate No. 4 to Rajpura Chowk to avoid this stretch. They should instead use Hambran Road or the routes from Swami Road or Thaggu Chowk," Purewal said.

Repair Work Begins

Departmental teams from the Municipal Corporation have already begun repair work on the site, while police personnel from the PAU Police Station remain deployed to manage the crowds gathering near the crater.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)