Section of R. K. Mutt Road caves in following heavy rain

A section of the busy R.K. Mutt Road in Mylapore, opposite Vetri Vilaas Hotel caved in after the heavy rain, that continuously poured from Wednesday night till this morning.

This happened at an area where stormwater drain (SWD) desilting work was being carried out by civic workers.

Said Chennai Corporation’s assistant executive engineer who was at the site, “We had dug up this section of road to desilt SWD here. After yesterday’s work, we had covered the dug up portion with loose sand so as to continue the remaining work today (Oct.29).”

“However, the loose sand could not withstand heavy rain. Hence, this portion of a road caved in breaking the section of SWD and the drainage pipe that was passing below it.”

Restoration work, he says started soon after civic workers reported the incident to them, this morning. “No injuries have been reported due to the cave-in.” This afternoon a JCB was used to remove the sand and muck surrounding the damaged pipe.

Now, contract workers of Metro Water are working to set right the drainage pipe. “Once they finish the work, we will construct the SWD section above it and restore the road,” the official says.

The work is expected to be completed within two to three days, said another civic official.