BHOPAL: A major road accident was averted when a 100-metre stretch of road near Sukhi Sevania on the outskirts of Bhopal caved in on Monday afternoon, as there was no traffic on the road at the time of the incident. The Sukhi Sevania police swung into action, closing traffic on the road which caved in. The MP Road Development Corporation (MPRDC), which maintains the road, also announced a probe into the cave-in by a panel led by a chief engineer. Constructed in 2013, the road in question is part of Indore-Jabalpur bypass and connects Indore, Hoshangabad, Jabalpur, Mandla and Sagar.After July’s MP Nagar cave-in debacle, another road sinksThe road was constructed in 2013 under buildoperation-transfer (BOT) model by a company but in 2020, contract with the company was cancelled as it failed to meet the terms and conditions of the contract, said MPRDC officials. According to eyewitnesses, the road started developing cracks all of a sudden and soon a stretch of the road caved in.
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In July, the busy road near Jyoti Talkies in MP Nagar had also similarly caved in. However, as with Monday’s incident, there was also no damage to life and property then. The PWD, which maintains the road, blamed the incident on the underground nullah flowing beneath the road responsible. The caved-in portion of the road had still not been barricaded till last reports.Sharing details of the incident, PWD principal secretary Sukhveer Singh said a stretch of the road on Bhopal eastern bypass collapsed due to damage to one side of the retaining wall of the ROB. There was no loss of life or property. He said a committee, comprising chief engineer BS Meena, general managers Manoj Gupta and RS Chandel, has been constituted to probe into reasons behind the incident and strict action would follow against persons found guilty for the collapse.PWD Minister Rakesh Singh, who was at Delhi airport, told ToI that he had come to know of the incident just then. He said he would collect more information on his return to Bhopal but promised there would be a probe, including the technical aspects that possibly contributed to the cave-in, and the guilty won’t be spared. He added that the road would be repaired soon.Rakesh Sonkar, an eyewitness, said that he was going to Kalyanpura when one side of the road beyond the ROB started developing cracks and in no time, a portion of the road collapsed. He said people nearby and those commuting on the stretch immediately informed police of the cave-in. Soon, a police team rushed to the spot and diverted traffic.Station house officer (SHO), Sukhi Sevania police station, Rambabu Chaudhary, said he received information about 12 noon that the road had developed cracks and was sinking. “We rushed to the spot and barricaded the road. A police contingent was also deployed at the scene,” the SHO said. Later, officials of the MPRDC also visited the spot.Some Congress leaders also reached the spot following the incident and staged a demonstration alleging poor quality of roads and public infrastructure under the BJP government.Manoj Shukla, who led the Congress agitation at the site, said a major accident could have taken place if a truck or a bus had been passing at the time the road sank at least 30 feet below the surface. The Congress leader also pointed to the train line that passes close to the road while adding that Sukhi Sevania railway station was close by.Sukhi Sewania SHO Rambabu Choudhary said traffic was diverted following the road collapse, and police personnel were deployed at the site. He added that approximately 50 metres of the road near the ROB on the Sukhi Sewania–Kalyanpur/Bilkhiria stretch sank. The retaining wall collapsed, and about 30 feet of the 40-foot-wide lane was damaged. Traffic was immediately diverted around noon after cracks were first noticed on the road.
