Portion of road in Bengaluru's Mahalakshmi Layout Main Road caves in mere days after asphalting

Days after a sinkhole appeared on Brigade Road, another sinkhole appeared at Mahalakshmi Layout on Tuesday, leaving the residents of the area fuming.

The citizens were shocked at the incident since the road was asphalted by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike(BBMP) just three days ago. According to sources, the sinkhole appeared when a water tanker was passing by the spot at 8:40 am.

BBMP officials who inspected the spot said that the pipelines underneath had loosened the soil, resulting in a 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,” the BBMP engineer in charge of the area said.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) officials who visited the spot soon after the incident was reported said that they were working on replacing the damaged pipelines.

“We had not taken up any work on the stretch earlier. From the initial inspection, we could see that the pipe had cracked due to overload. We are replacing the pipeline now,” the BWSSB engineer of the area said.

The BBMP officials said that the sinkhole will be filled with concrete and wet mix.

“We will ensure that the spot is strengthened and filled with binding materials,” the engineer said.