Huge sinkhole develops on Secunderabad main road
A large number of sewerage lines in the city have outlived their shelf life of 30 years.
Hyderabad: A cave-in occurred on the busy Sarojini Devi Road opposite Kamat Hotel and a few metres from Clock Tower, on Wednesday night. Since it was after 9.30 pm, and the portion was being used as a parking lot for the hotel, there were no casualties.
The damaged portion of the road was cordoned off by the Sewerage Board, but traffic was allowed towards Clock Tower from Patny Circle.
Explaining how it happened, Mr Rameshwar Rao, director, operations and maintenance, HMWSSB, said that a 350 mm diameter sewerage line "collapsed at this particular site and the sewerage water entered the earth and softened the soil and it sank in. This is a 30-year-old RCC pipeline running from Sangeet to SD Road via Clock Tower and joins the Kalasiguda nalla. As part of the repairs, 32 metres of the pipeline is being replaced by the sewerage board. The work will be completed by Thursday night."
An eye-witness recalled seeing "a gush of drainage water from the pipeline underneath filled up the spot in minutes.”
“Drainage water poured in with a roar,” said a food vendor. It was the street vendors who alerted the HMWSSB officials. Customers of Kamat Hotel were made to park their vehicles ahead of the damage site, while a nearby bookstore was closed for the day.
A large number of sewerage lines in the city have outlived their life of 30 years. The sewer network, especially in the core city, needs an immediate revamp. It may be recalled that during the mini floods in September, a 10-foot deep cave-in occurred on NTR Marg, posing a major risk for motorists. Another sinkhole appeared in Malkajgiri, a result of poor engineering.