Surat: The city of riches continued to expose its fragile and poorly executed infrastructure as yet another spell of rain triggered multiple road cave-ins across Surat on Wednesday, leaving vehicles stranded and commuters inconvenienced.A state transport (ST) bus got stuck on Udhna Main Road after a section of the road suddenly caved in, disrupting traffic on one of the city’s busiest corridors. Officials of the Udhna zone attributed the collapse to ground settlement caused by recent utility work and rainfall.According to civic officials, a hydraulic pipeline was laid at the location in May. Heavy rainfall over the past few days led to soil settlement beneath the restored road surface, resulting in the cave-in. However, officials from the hydraulic department pointed to the reinstatement process after trenching as a possible factor. They said the trench was refilled quickly to reopen the busy road, leaving insufficient time for proper soil compaction and stabilisation. Subsequent rainwater seepage likely worsened the settlement, triggering the collapse.In another incident, a school van got stuck on a damaged road in Limbayat after its wheel sank into a weakened patch. Schoolchildren in uniform had to step out of the vehicle and walk in the rain after it became immobile.Limbayat zone officials said the road had been repaired about 10 days ago following a sewage drainage pipeline leak. However, heavy rains washed away part of the restored surface, causing the road to give way again.The latest incidents add to a growing list of road collapses reported across Surat after underground pipeline and drainage works. On Tuesday, a stretch near Panvel Point floodgate on the Mota Varachha–Satyam Row House road caved in. In another case, an SMC truck was trapped after a road collapsed in the Udhna area. Around 10 days ago in Dindoli, a truck was stranded when a recently repaired road caved in barely a week after hydraulic pipeline work was completed.Following the Mota Varachha incident, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) issued show-cause notices to the East Zone-B Sarthana drainage department’s junior engineer and a trainee technical assistant, seeking explanation for alleged negligence and asking why disciplinary action should not be initiated. Notices were also issued to agencies involved in hydraulic pipeline works across multiple locations.
