Yet again, that sinking feeling in Chennai

Portion of Poonamallee High Road above Metro Rail tunnel caves in; CMRL denies responsibility

CMRL workers poured concrete on the stretch and completed the repair work in four hours.

A month after a huge road cave-in on Anna Salai due to Metro Rail work, a portion of the Poonamallee High Road gave way early on Saturday morning.

However, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials said the cave-in was not due to underground tunnelling work.

The cave-in occurred around 4.30 a.m.

The incident took place above a Metro Rail tunnel that connects Thirumangalam and Nehru Park, a stretch that is awaiting inauguration.

After a lorry crossed the junction, a portion of the road near the median sank. P. Rajendran, who has been running a tea stall in the area for three decades, said, “I open my shop at 3.30 a.m every day. An hour after I began work, I heard a loud noise. When I went to the spot, I saw a deep hole,” he said.

 

Repair work

Passers-by called the police who informed CMRL officials. Traffic was diverted for a few hours.

Later, a CMRL contractor inspected the site, poured concrete and carried out repair work. Traffic was restored around 10 a.m.

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CMRL officials said the tunnelling for this stretch was completed nearly two years ago and hence, it could not have caused the cave-in. “But we still went ahead and did the repair work to avoid inconvenience to commuters,” an official said.

S. Suryanarayanan, who runs a juice stall near the junction, said such instances have occurred in the past. “We have been facing many issues ever since Metro Rail work started. They claim this is not because of their work but no other work has been carried out recently,” he said. “Fortunately, the cave-in occurred when there was no heavy traffic movement,” he added.

At the end of the day, it was still not clear what caused the cave-in. Neither the CMRL nor the Chennai Corporation could explain the reasons for the sudden sinkhole on one of the city’s arterial roads.