Now, road caves in near Hanuman Setu

Lucknow: Several commuters passing through the stretch connecting Hanuman Setu and Daliganj had a narrow escape after a portion of the road caved in on Thursday evening due to water leakage.The crater, which looked small from above, but was hollow inside the ground, was 10-feet deep and about 3-foot in diameter —large enough to sink a small car inside.The road comes under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department (PWD) and is a connecting route to commuters coming from Daliganj to Lucknow University. Around 200-250 heavy vehicles pass through the stretch daily. The spot was later barricaded for repairs which will take at least two days, said officials.As many as three such incidents have happened in the past six months.In December, a huge crater was created in the middle of the road after a portion on the stretch caved in on Cantt road in Kaiserbagh. Another crater was created in the middle of the road after a portion on the stretch caved in at Lohia Nagar in Vikasnagar in November. In both cases, leakage in water-pipe lines resulting in the surface collapsing was a common factor.About this incident, locals said that a small crater of one feet diameter was formed near the manhole cover on Thursday evening.Seeing that they put some stones around it and green stems from a tree on the divider so that commuters remain cautious. However, around 9 pm a bike rider hit the crater and suffered bruises.“We were shocked to see that the portion of the road expanded after the incident. Luckily no other vehicle was passing at that time, else it could have been fatal,” said Sonu Kashyap, a local shopkeeper. “After two more bikes had a narrow escape, some commuters called PWD to repair it. Officials came in the morning and found the water seeping under it. It caused the crater. They informed the Jalkal department who put barricades and started repair work,” said Maneesh Kashyap, another shopkeeper.“The Jalkal department must develop a mechanism to detect water leakage inside any road,” said Rajnarayan, a LU student who passes through the route daily.He also highlighted that devotees coming to Mankameshwar temple for ‘Shivratri’ would have issues passing through. Executive engineer PWD Maneesh Verma said, “Barricades have been placed in a manner to accommodate passersby and repair works will be completed as soon as Jalkal finishes the work.”General manager Jalkal Ram Kailash Gupta said, “The cover of two 30-year-old pipelines got damaged that resulted in water leakage. It eroded soil under the road that collapsed due to vacuum created. We have rectified the fault.”