3 roads cave in, jams after huge pit on KG Marg

NEW DELHI: A major portion of Kasturba Gandhi Marg in central Delhi caved in on Sunday, causing huge traffic snarls in the area. The cave-in, which reportedly took place around 7.30pm, left a six-feet deep and a three-feet wide pit in the middle of the road.
The cave-in at K G Marg was one of the three cave-ins reported on Sunday. The other two cave-ins were reported from a stretch near the Anand Vihar bus terminal and from NH-24 that connects Ghazipur and Nizamuddin.Sources said the pit on NH-24 was one foot deep and three feet wide.
NDMC officials who reached the site on K G Marg said the area has been barricaded. They claimed that by Monday morning the road will be repaired. The reason behind the cave-in was not clear. This is second major cave-in on K G Marg in the last one month.
"No one was injured on K G Marg though the incident created a huge pit in the middle of the road. Vehicles passing by escaped narrowly. The pit is a reflection of the shoddy work our civic agencies do," said Ravi Mehta who works in the area. Commuters going towards Lodhi Colony and other areas were diverted to another route.
Meanwhile, repairs could not be started on the Vikas Marg stretch that had caved in on Friday in east Delhi after Delhi Jal Board discovered another pipe burst in the same area.
According to sources, the water line that burst on Friday not only caused the cave-in but also damaged a parallel line. "This disturbed the alignment of the pipe and the Jal Vihar main developed a crack. This might have happened on Friday itself but we discovered it much later," said R K Garg, member (water supply), DJB. Officials said DJB would now be able to finish work only by Monday. Repair work on the road will start after DJB finishes its work.