In yet another instance of apparent negligence by Madurai Corporation officials, the underground sewage line busted on Palam Station Road near Pandalkudi canal on Wednesday morning, as a result of which the road caved in.
Traffic was thrown out of gear in and around the busy Goripalayam junction for more than an hour. With repair work in progress throughout Wednesday – it is expected to go on till Thursday – vehicle movement was slowed down in the area.
This was at least the third such incident reported at the same spot in one year and the fourth such incident near Goripalayam area. Last time, road caved in due to busting of sewage line at Goripalayam junction, right at the beginning of Albert Victor bridge on September 6.
According to the traffic police personnel posted in the area, the incident happened around 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday with a huge quantity of sewage water gushing out on the road, putting vehicle users at risk.
“We had to immediately block the road and divert the traffic through alternative routes. As it was peak hour, traffic came to a standstill for a brief period,” a police personnel said.
Corporation officials attributed the incident to damage caused to the decades old pipeline due to erosion. The pipeline conducts sewage water from Sellur to Munthirithoppu, from where it is pumped to Sakkimangalam.
Acknowledging that the sewage line at the spot was replaced at least once recently, an Executive Engineer of the Corporation said a five-metre-long pipe was not replaced as the sewage line at the spot had a number of bends. “Moreover, we found this particular length of the pipe to be in good condition when we made the replacement last time,” he added.
Stating that the entire sewage line had now been replaced with pipes made of cast iron, the engineer assured that similar incidents would not happen at the spot again.
Corporation Commissioner S. Aneesh Sekhar visited the spot and urged the officials to expedite the repair work.
