Road cracks, pipeline bursts: BMC blames heavy vehicles

Bhopal: A water pipeline burst in front of Raj Bhavan on Tuesday afternoon, caving in the road. The incident exposed the strain on the city's infrastructure following a diversion of heavy vehicles from the Sukhi Sewaniya Overbridge that began earlier for about two weeks. The rupture forced an immediate water shutdown, disrupting water treatment operations. "First there was a depression in the road and then the pipeline burst was reported. It is the result of heavy vehicle movement on the stretch," said the BMC city engineer (Water Works). He said operations at the 5 MGD filtration plant in Arera Hills were affected. The damaged line carries water from Upper Lake to the plant, and nearly 10 city wards are expected to face supply problems on Wednesday.The 500 mm pipeline, laid in 1965, gave way after trucks and dumpers weighing about 25–80 tons were rerouted through the stretch over the past three days. The road, designed for only 8–10 tons, collapsed under the combined pressure of the traffic above and the aging line beneath. Around 1:30 pm, water gushed out with such force that the asphalt peeled away and gravel and debris were swept off, leaving the area flooded. Eyewitnesses said several two-wheeler riders lost balance and a major accident was narrowly avoided. Traffic, however, continued through the waterlogged road. Even the convoy of the Speaker of the legislative assembly passed the stretch, raising questions about traffic management and emergency response even in the city's VIP zone. Experts said the incident was a direct consequence of overloading. Roads like the Raj Bhavan–VIP stretch are built for light vehicles. "A road designed for an 8–10 ton capacity subjected to a 30-ton load? A collapse is inevitable," said Shafiq Ahmed, retired municipal engineer. Experts stressed that before implementing diversions, authorities must conduct load capacity assessments, traffic category planning, and underground utility audits. Without these, they warned, the city risks further failures, with the Cable-Stayed Bridge and VIP Road now also under threat. "All no-entry zones are thrown open every day, from 11 pm to 6 am, by an order issued by the collector. This arrangement has been in place for a long time. Since traffic cops are generally not deployed at night, there is no question of them diverting (heavy commercial) vehicles during those hours. Such movement across the city is permitted at night. If the BMC is facing issues on any specific stretch, they should flag it with us and seek curbs," Additional DCP (traffic) Basant Kaul told TOI.