Roads in Ayodhya and Ahmedabad cave-in: What causes road cave-ins — and how can they be avoided

Heavy rainfall has led to incidents of road cave-ins in several cities in the last few days. For instance, last week, the newly built Ram Path in Ayodhya suffered road cave-ins at multiple spots. On Sunday (June 30), a road in Ahmedabad caved in, leaving a huge sinkhole.

Here is a look at why road cave-ins occur, and how to avoid them.

What causes road cave-ins?

The cave-ins or cavities that look like holes in the ground are a product of the incessant rain. Continuous rain leads to overflowing of drains, which can cause leaks in the pipeline. When a pipeline leaks and water from the pipeline flows into the layers of earth around it, the earth starts to erode and with time, it gets washed away with the water in the pipeline.

Eventually, the portion of the road over it collapses because of the erosion. How long this takes, would depend on the size of the pipelines and the leak.

How do you fix the road after a cave-in?

Once such an incident takes place, authorities concerned stop the flow of the water through the pipelines, which can take some time. They then try to find the leakage in the pipelines. As soon as the location of the leak is established, work on the pipeline starts.

Also in Explained | What kind of car insurance can protect against flood damages?

After the work is complete, authorities then fill the cavity with the required material. In smaller cavities, they use gravel while larger ones are filled with sand since it can be compacted easily.

How can such cave-ins be avoided?

To avoid such cavities, the integrity of the pipelines would have to be checked. Engineers suggest that one of the ways that such cave-ins can be avoided includes creating a system wherein the leakage can be plugged earlier on. Installing a system that checks the flow at the start point and one at the endpoint, would be able to help authorities know that there is a leak. If the leakage is plugged early, the cave-in can be avoided.

For the latest news from across India, Political updates, Explainers, Sports News, Opinion, Entertainment Updates and more Top News, visit Indian Express. Subscribe to our award-winning Newsletter Download our App here Android & iOS