Road Caves In, Compound Wall Crashes, House Saved By Metres

Time of India

02-06-2025

Nagpur: A 100m stretch of road in Subhan Nagar, Pardi, once again caved in due to the failure of a massive, British-era trunk sewer line running beneath it. This has created a major safety hazard, filling local residents with uncertainty.
The latest cave-in also brought down the compound wall and main gate of a bungalow owned by the Khemnani family, with residents narrowly escaping harm.
The collapse, which occurred two days ago, is just the latest in a series of infrastructure failures in the area. Locals say the signs were evident: over a period of three years, two breaches in the same 1,200mm diameter trunk sewer line have been reported. However, only superficial patchwork was carried out by Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) public health engineering (PHE) department.
With the arrival of the monsoon, rainwater began seeping into the soil, weakening the already fragile ground and accelerating the collapse.
"This is a British-era pipeline. Its joints deteriorated over time, and internal settlement of the pipe causes repeated collapses," said Sanjay Mate, executive engineer of NMC's Lakadganj zone, who confirmed that excavation is underway to access the damaged section. "We earlier replaced two pipes here, but the stretch behind them has now given way.
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The compound wall that collapsed was sitting on a friction pile, which became unstable during the excavation," he added.
According to Mate, the situation is being treated as an emergency. Work is going on to lay new pipes adjacent to the damaged line, and the area around the affected property is being secured. He reassured that the Khemnani bungalow itself, located around 10–15 feet from the damaged zone, is currently not at risk, and access routes for the residents are being maintained.
"We carried out major repairs in 2022 and some five months ago too. This marks the third such collapse in the same zone," Mate admitted. "The end pressure on the tail end of this line is very high, and without an alternative sewer line in place, we're unable to fully replace it at once. We do have a long-term plan to overhaul the entire stretch, but it can't be executed until an alternative line is commissioned."
Former corporator Pradip Pohane, who visited the site, expressed concern over the repeated collapses.
"This is not an isolated issue. Cracks and subsidence have been reported multiple times, and the authorities failed to take preventive action. Now, even the soil beneath homes and parking areas is giving way," he said.
Sources in the PHE department identified at least five vulnerable points along the same sewer line in the Subhan Nagar area, indicating that the problem may be far more widespread than currently visible. Residents are demanding immediate, permanent repairs and a complete overhaul of the century-old sewer infrastructure. They fear that continued reliance on ad-hoc solutions — especially during the monsoon — may soon lead to catastrophic damage.
"This is not just about inconvenience. Our lives and homes are at stake," a local resident said. "We need action before another collapse puts lives in danger."