Craters appear in Karol Bagh, Janakpuri roads in Delhi

Two sinkholes suddenly appeared on Saturday morning in two key arterial roads in west Delhi – the first on Arya Samaj Road in Karol Bagh, and the second adjacent to District Centre in Janakpuri on Joginder Singh Marg – forcing officials to shut down the carriageways on both roads for repairs.
Both roads are maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD), repair work on them is likely to take a week, according to officials familiar with the development.
The sinkhole on Arya Samaj Road appeared due to a possible leak in the sewer line beneath the road, said a PWD official. Traffic officials covered the sunken portion of the road with a road barricade and cordoned off the area.
“A sewer line of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is passing through Arya Samaj Road in Karol Bagh and it may have leaked. We have informed DJB and they will take up repairs soon. The repair work will be done by filling the gap to make it motorable within a week,” said a PWD official.
Vehicles were restricted at Bikaner Chowk near the Karol Bagh market, affecting traffic on the road from the Bagga Link roundabout towards Saraswati Chowk, traffic police said.
The cause for the sinkhole on Joginder Singh Marg near the Janakpuri District Centre is not yet known, said officials. Traffic officials barricaded the damaged portion of the road, restricting traffic on the carriageway towards Lal Sain Mandir Marg. PWD officials said that the sunken portion will be filled within a week to make it motorable.
“Commuters going towards Lal Sain Mandir Marg are advised to take the Major Deepak Tyagi Marg at Dhauli Piao intersection, Janakpuri,” the Delhi Traffic Police said on X.
Last year as well, a large part of an adjacent road in Janakpuri going towards Joginder Singh Marg had collapsed near the Posangipur village. PWD officials had said that the incident occurred due to a leak in a DJB sewer line and the stretch has still not been fully repaired.
In a related development, traffic was also affected on the road opposite the Old Delhi Railway Station after PWD began repairs on a portion of the road that had caved in last month.
“Traffic is affected in the carriageway from Chhatta Rail towards Pili Kothi due to ongoing work of the civic agency opposite the Old Delhi Railway Station. Diversion has been made from Chhatta Rail red light. Kindly plan your journey accordingly,” a traffic police advisory said.
After the cave-in, a 100-metre stretch of the road was cordoned off till PWD began repairs on Saturday morning. Officials said that it will take more than a week before the area can be reopened to the public.
Delhi has seen a series of cave-ins this monsoon at places such as Ashoka Road, several roads in Sangam Vihar, Mandi House, service lanes of Aurobindo Marg, parts of Rohini, and Goyla Dairy.
Officials said that the cave-ins are often a result of bad road laying techniques or damaged water or sewer lines beneath roads due to which water seeps in and weakens the road.