A major accident was averted after a portion of the road caved in on the busy stretch between Mint Gumri Chowk and Gulati Chowk in Ludhiana on Saturday evening, creating a deep crater.
Fortunately, no vehicle was passing through the spot when the incident occurred. Residents said the incident could have resulted in a serious accident as heavy traffic is witnessed on the road throughout the day.
After noticing the crater, local shopkeepers acted promptly and placed a red flag near the spot to alert motorists and pedestrians.
A similar incident of road subsidence had occurred a short distance away on the same stretch in the past, raising concerns about the condition of the road infrastructure.
City resident Arvind Sharma informed Municipal Corporation officials about the cave-in. Following the complaint, a team of the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) cell reached the site and installed a barricade at the affected spot.
Sharma said the Mint Gumri Chowk-Gulati Chowk stretch was among the busiest roads in the city and repeated incidents of road cave-ins indicated possible defects in the water supply or sewerage network beneath the road. He demanded an inspection of underground pipelines and immediate corrective measures.
O&M cell SDO Harjot Singh said safety measures were taken after receiving information about the incident. He said excavation work would be carried out on Sunday morning to ascertain the exact cause of the cave-in and undertake repairs.
