A section of the Dwarka Expressway’s Central Peripheral Road (CPR) near Kherki Daula was barricaded on Sunday morning after a portion of the road caved in, officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said.
The cave-in occurred near the GMDA bus stop between Elan Mall and Kherki Daula, and the damage was first noticed around 10 am. Authorities cordoned off one lane to avoid any mishap.
According to NHAI, this was the third such incident in the same area within the past two months, which was triggered by ongoing underground pipeline work by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). The work had already been halted last month after repeated cave-ins.
Repeated cave-ins on Dwarka Expressway
An NHAI official said that as soon as the depression on the road was noticed, the maintenance agency was called in, and the repair work was completed by 3 pm. “This is the third road cave-in that has occurred at this location after GMDA started laying a master water pipeline of 2000 mm diameter under the Dwarka Expressway. It was due to repeated cave-ins that the pipeline work was stopped,” the official was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.
The NHAI also clarified that it will not allow further digging or pipeline laying until GMDA ensures strong engineering safety measures. “Permission to resume work will only be given once GMDA adopts a secure method, such as constructing a tunnel or installing supporting structures, to handle such a large pipeline. Our technical experts will thoroughly examine their design before any approval,” the official added.
The official further said that around 40 metres of the pipeline have already been laid under the road, and the weak soil beneath that stretch continues to subside, posing risks to motorists and the expressway’s structure.
According to the officials from GMDA, the pipeline project involves two segments under the CPR to link the master pipeline from Chandu Budhera to the Sector 72 water boosting station. The project began in July after sharing all required designs and documents with NHAI.
They also clarified that an older 1,600 mm master pipeline laid by HSVP in 2012 could not be completed for a 300-metre stretch near Sector 36 due to land issues, which is now being addressed through the new work.
A GMDA spokesperson said the agency is coordinating with NHAI and technical staff from L&T to assess and fix the affected stretch. “Rectification has been done under expert supervision,” the spokesperson was quoted by HT as saying.
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