A large sinkhole, about 30 ft deep, appeared in a private property on Tannery Road just a few metres away from the alignment of the underground tunnel of Namma Metro. Fortunately, the building on the property was not damaged, and no one was injured. The family that was residing there has been evacuated.
The building has a shop on the ground floor and a house on the first floor. According to officials, the earth caved in where there was an old open well, which was recently closed. “On Thursday, during tunnelling work by tunnel boring machine Bhadra, a sinkhole appeared at about 100 m. from Venkateshpura underground metro station towards Tannery Road Metro station at around 7.30 a.m.,” BMRCL said in a statement.
The owner of the property, who had rented it out, told mediapersons that it was BMRCL which asked them to close the well recently before commencing the tunnelling work. “There was no problem for over 35 years the building and the well stood. Now metro work is responsible for the damage to the building,” he said.
BMRCL said in a statement, said, “To ensure safety, the shop has been closed and the family has been provided accommodation near Nagawara. Once the filling of the well with sand and concrete, which is in progress, is completed and after securing the building, tunnelling activities will continue.” It added that the family will be allowed to return when tunnelling work is completed and after ensuring that the building is structurally safe.
