Cops put traffic diversions in place at cave-in spot on Aurobindo Marg
NEW DELHI: A day after a portion of a road near the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in south Delhi caved in and caused major traffic disruptions, the Delhi traffic police on Sunday issued a detailed traffic diversion plan for the stretch and adjoining roads, as senior officials of state water utility said that though the hole has been filled, ‘associated deep sewer work’ by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will continue in the coming days.
Additional commissioner of police (traffic) SD Mishra said a portion of Sri Aurobindo Marg below the Iit-delhi flyover caved in because of an underground water leakage. He said that though the crater, approximately 15x10 feet, was repaired and the crossing opened up for traffic movement, work on the deep sewer lines will continue, and is likely to affect traffic on nearby roads.
“The damaged portion of the road was repaired and the crater was filled with mud, sand and loose gravel, and the crossing has been opened for traffic. However, associated deep sewer work by the DJB continues at the at-grade road towards IIT,” Mishra said.
The traffic police’s diversion plan said that vehicles travelling on Sri Aurobindo Marg from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) side will not be allowed to turn right towards IIT from Monday.
Vehicles that are not taking the IIT flyover from Outer Ring Road, on the Panchsheel side, will not be allowed to go straight past the crossing and head towards IIT.
“Only a single lane will be available for traffic coming from Adchini on Sri Aurobindo Marg and heading towards IIT,” said the diversion plan.
Suggesting alternative routes, traffic police said vehicles coming from AIIMS on Sri Aurobindo Marg that want to take a right towards IIT, can take a left turn on the Outer Ring Road, make a U-turn from below the Panchsheel flyover, and then use the IIT flyover to cross to the IIT side.
Alternatively, commuters can also go straight on Sri Aurobindo Marg and make a U-turn at either the Mother’s International School T-junction or the Adchini T-junction.
Commuters coming from the Panchsheel Park side, who want to go towards IIT, can use the flyover instead of taking the crossing. Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) minister Satyendar Jain said repair work on the road was completed in a ‘record’ eight hours.
“DJB and PWD worked on war footing to restore the broken pipeline and the sunken road under the IIT flyover for the convenience of people,” Jain said on Sunday.