Road in front of Lalbagh gate sinks

Motorists using the road in front of Lalbagh West Gate here experienced a scene from the sci-fi film “2012.” They had a sinking feeling when the road just collapsed in front of their eyes.

At around 10.30 a.m. on Sunday, the road in front of the Kuvempu statue near the gate sank suddenly. The road now has a huge “sink hole” measuring around 12 ft in length, four ft in width and nearly eight ft in depth. The alert police diverted vehicular movement and prevented accidents.

A Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) official said that this “sink hole” could have been caused by the high water table in the areas around the Lalbagh Lake.

“The road collapsed suddenly. We still have not been able to single out any reason for this,” according the official.

He said that a similar thing happened on Krumbiegel Road around two months ago. He added that the BBMP officials were trying to break the uneven parts around the pit. “On Monday, we will begin to fill the pit so that the road can be restored,” he said.

Area councillor S. Anil Kumar said that the “sink hole” had developed almost in the centre of the road.

He also said that this phenomenon was not uncommon in the areas around Lalbagh Lake.

“As soon as I got to know of the incident, I alerted the BBMP control room. The road repair work is under way,” he said.

‘Cauvery trench'

B.R. Srinivasa Murthy, retired civil engineer professor from the Indian Institute of Science, said that it could be because of the Cauvery trench, which may not have been filled properly.

“Otherwise, it could also have been triggered by infrastructure work (Namma Metro pier construction that is being taken up nearby), large-scale piling or movement of heavy vehicles.

“However, one can ascertain the exact reason only after visiting the spot,” Mr. Srinivasa Murthy added.

Meanwhile, the police, who had diverted traffic on nearby roads, said that the vehicular movement was not affected since it was a Sunday.

“The road sees a lot of traffic. We anticipate traffic snarls on Monday in the area,” they said.

BBMP, however, has undertaken immediate restoration works.