Mumbai: Road caves in at Prabhadevi due to pipe leak; car trapped

A hole was formed after a section of Swatantryaveer Savarkar Marg caved in at Prabhadevi on Thursday; (right) the JCB machine that was pressed into service. Pics/Ashish Raje

During peak hours on Thursday, Prabhadevi locals helped a driver remove a car tyre that had got stuck in a 20-foot hole formed after a road collapse was witnessed on Swatantraveer Savarkar Marg. Shopkeepers who witnessed the incident said it occurred around 10.30 am and took about 30 minutes to free the vehicle. The car's owner could not be located. By noon, the area was swarmed by politicians and ward-level Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials.

Locals and politicians raised concerns about the potential disaster if the collapse occurred during Ganpati Visarjan festivities. Commuters faced delays as repair work began, with a JCB on-site. "Many of the underground drainage and water lines are old, and this incident is likely due to a leak. We've alerted the BMC multiple times, but they only act after a disaster," said Sanjay Bhagat, the Shiv Sena (UBT) shakha pramukh for the area, who was present at the scene.

Anand Dubey, a spokesperson for Shiv Sena (UBT), added, "This suggests corruption. The festival isn't even over, and yet the road has caved in. The government is more focused on breaking up Opposition parties." Sada Sarvankar, a leader from the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, also visited the site. He said, "I have instructed the road department to make immediate repairs. Traffic police will divert vehicles until the work is finished."

Santosh Shinde, assistant maintenance engineer, G-South ward, said, "We are certain it happened because of the water line. The work is ongoing and should be completed by the end of the day." The ward's water works engineer Krushna Shinde noted that it was difficult to determine how long the leak had been present. "It was a British-era pipe, and the road caved in because the leakage destabilised the base," he said.