IFFCO Chowk sinkhole widens past 30 feet, slowing MG Road traffic

The sinkhole beside IFFCO Chowk has widened from more than 10 feet to over 30 feet, forcing restrictions on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway service road and slowing traffic on MG Road.

Vehicles from MG Road and Sikanderpur heading towards Delhi and Sukhrali were affected after authorities barricaded the stretch towards the U-turn flyover. By about 10.30am on Wednesday, traffic on MG Road was crawling, commuter Shekhar Sharma said. Roads around IFFCO Chowk and Sikanderpur metro stations also saw spillover congestion.

A preliminary inspection found a 1,000mm GMDA master sewer line below the damaged road. Officials suspect leakage from the old line eroded the soil beneath it. The sewer carries waste from DLF Phase 2, MG Road and IFFCO Chowk to the Behrampur treatment plant.

GMDA has deployed pumps to divert sewage to a nearby manhole and dewater the site. It briefly stopped water supply for nearly five hours in DLF Phase 1 and Sushant Lok-1 as a precaution, though officials found the water pipeline intact. NHAI said road restoration can begin after the sewer line is repaired.