3 road cave-ins in Gurugram after heavy rain; vehicles caught in collapses

Gurugram on Tuesday reported three road cave-ins following the heavy rainfall and waterlogging in the city on Monday.A portion of service road at IFFCO Chowk caved in. (HT Photo)A portion of the service road at IFFCO Chowk caved in. Preliminary findings suggest a main sewer line of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), running beneath the affected stretch, could be responsible for the collapse. Traffic police barricaded the area and diverted vehicles to alternative routes.In December, GMDA warned the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) about a possible cave-in at the IFFCO flyover, citing an old water pipeline beneath its retaining wall. The flyover’s retaining wall also collapsed in 2021 after a sewage drain below it was damaged during heavy rain.Also Read: Advisory issued as waterlogging brings Delhi, Gurugram traffic to crawlGMDA spokesperson Neha Sharma told HT that the agency, along with the NHAI, has cordoned off the area. “The affected area has been barricaded, and the GMDA has issued directions to the agency for the repair of the 1000mm master sewer line in the area. The road repair work will be taken up after the master sewer line is repaired,” she said.In another incident, a cement-laden canter carrying around 300 bags sank into a section of the link road to Dwarka Expressway in Sector 9. Roadside excavation work was reportedly under way, and waterlogging made it difficult for the driver to assess the weakened stretch. A portion of the vehicle got trapped in the road, damaging the canter and some cement bags. No injuries were reported.Another heavy vehicle got stuck near Narsinghpur village on the service road along the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway. A truck carrying Yamuna sand sank when the slab covering a stormwater drain broke under its weight.According to the district administration, on Monday, Gurugram tehsil recorded 75 mm of rainfall between 8am and 3pm, while the India Meteorological Department’s Gurugram North Cap University station logged 38 mm of rain from 8.30am to 5.30pm. Waterlogging was reported at several key junctions and arterial roads with traffic particularly affected around Rajiv Chowk, Narsinghpur, IFFCO Chowk, Sirhaul border, NH-48, Sohna Road, Sheetla Mata Road and parts of Old Gurugram.