Chennai: Early morning motorists on the busy Rajiv Gandhi Road, otherwise called as Old Mahabalipuram Road, experienced a scare and hade a close shave as a portion of the road suddenly caved in on Saturday morning.
The incident happened near Seevaram toll plaza near Thoraippakkam on the outskirts of the city. “At around 8.30 am, an 8-feet deep pit formed on the road forcing the traffic to halt. The pit had a circumference of 5 feet,” one motorist said.
Because the incident happened close to the toll plaza, its employees stepped in and blocked the road with barricades and marked damaged part of the road. “If the same pit was formed somewhere else or at night, the ramifications could have been serious,” the motorist said.
Motorists were irked as national highway, Greater Chennai Corporation and metro water officials desperately tried to divest the responsibility of fixing the road. “When we informed highway officials, they had come and returned by saying it is not their work. Chennai corporation officials blamed metro water works and metro water officials refused to act,” the motorist said.
Some of the motorists tried to block the road as the pit remained unattended for nearly two hours. “We were in a hurry to our offices. But the officials are simply blaming each other without fixing the road,” he said.
Following arguments, metro water workers working nearby brought their earthmovers and filled the pit with soil. The traffic resumed after two hours at around 10.30 am. “Although the problem had been solved on a temporary basis, the officials should study the issue and fix the road with a more permanent solution,” the motorist said. Meanwhile, officials on the spot said water gushing out of underground metro water pipeline is the cause of the incident. A similar incident happened on Anna Salai near Anna flyover. A car and an MTC bus were trapped as the road caved in on April 9, 2017.
