In the second such incident in a span of days, a section of a main road in Bengaluru’s Mahalakshmi Layout on Tuesday, January 17. While the road is now being repaired, it was asphalted only a few days ago, after the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) carried out underground pipeline work. No injuries were reported due to the sinkhole, however, the tyre of a water tanker was stuck in it and was later pulled out.
After inspecting the area, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and BWSSB officials told Deccan Herald that the pipelines underneath had loosened the soil, causing the sinkhole.
“We did not observe any problem when we were asphalting the road. We suspect that the pipeline started leaking later, loosening the soil and creating a cavity. Since the area was loose, a sinkhole formed as soon as a water tanker passed by,” a BBMP engineer in charge of the area told Deccan Herald.
Another sinkhole had appeared on Brigade Road on January 12, injuring a biker and causing massive traffic jams in the central part of the city. BBMP officials claimed that the road caved in as a result of the tunneling work undertaken by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). However, speaking to TNM, Siddanagowda Hegga Reddy, Executive Director of the BMRCL, said that the incident did not occur because of BMRCL’s tunneling work.
Meanwhile, Congress has targeted the ruling BJP government for the incident claiming that the ‘40% government’ is the reason behind the infrastructural failures in the city. "The sinkholes of Corruption of #40Percent Sarkara are an unending mess and nightmare for civic amenities. The exit of Bommai Govt is the only solution to stop the nauseating stench of unending corruption," Randeep Singh Surjewala, All India Congress Committee general secretary and in-charge of the party’s Karnataka unit, tweeted.
The sinkholes of Corruption of #40PercentSarkara are an unending mess and nightmare for civic amenities.
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) January 17, 2023
The exit of Bommai Govt is the only solution to stop the nauseating stench of unending corruption. https://t.co/IBkUOLK7PE
Watch Sinkhole forms near Bengaluru’s Brigade Road