Hyderabad witnessed another road cave-in on Saturday when a portion of the road on Minister Road caved in, leading to a massive traffic jam.
This would make it the fifth such incident since last year.
According to reports, the incident occurred around 1pm, and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) have said that it was a result of a sewer trunk line leaking.
Deccan Chronicle reported that the hole was two metres wide and two metres deep, and also added that the pipeline carries sewerage water from different colonies.
“The damaged pipeline is 600 mm in diameter. The repairs will take over four days. There are many cable lines beneath and the depth of the sewer is 14 feet.As the pipeline collapsed, sewer water gushed onto the road. Many pumps were used to arrest the overflow, which was later pumped into the Kalasiguda nala," Rameshwar Rao, director, operations and maintenance, HMWSSB told DC.
Since it was an area that witnesses several vehicles passing by, the traffic police also swung into action
"The road where the incident occurred is quite narrow. We diverted the traffic coming from Begumpet and KIMS to Ranigunj and Upper Tank Bund. Traffic coming from Khairatabad and Necklace Road, was diverted to Karbala and Buddha Bhavan," Begumpet traffic inspector C Chandrasekhar told the Times of India.
While the problem of Hyderabad's crumbling roads is being addressed in certain areas of the city, the number of pipelines leaking underneath new roads, is a fresh cause for concern.
In December lastyear, a road caved in on the busy Sarojini Devi Road opposite Kamat Hotel, due to a damaged pipeline which was leaking.
Earlier, a road caved in at the Safilguda junction in Secunderabad, due to a similar leakage devouring two vehicles.