BEST bus gets stuck in Mumbai's Girgaon after road caves in; MMRCL blames underground water leak

MUMBAI: A BEST bus got stuck in a pit on Dr Babasaheb Jaykar Marg near the Girgaon Metro Line 3 rehabilitation site on Monday morning, after continuous rain caused the road to collapse and its rear tyre to sink into a depression.
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The incident took place near Thakurdwar, above the under-construction site.
No injuries or casualties were reported, and all passengers were safely evacuated from the bus shortly after the incident.
According to BEST spokesperson Sudas Sawant, 'Our bus on route 121 from the Backbay Depot got stuck around 10 am today. No passengers on the bus were injured. As the bus belongs to a private contractor, Tata, the company's officials have been instructed to promptly remove the bus from the pit.'
According to sources, the bus was later pulled out and towed away.
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) stated that water had entered the basement pit of the proposed rehabilitation building, likely due to a leak from a nearby underground utility line. This may have caused erosion beneath the surface, leading to the cavity that was not visible from above.
'The cavity was not visible on the surface. The incident occurred early in the morning and was managed swiftly,' said an MMRCL official.
MMRCL is working with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to identify and repair any leaks in the area's water main, sewer line, or storm water drain (SWD) system.
Officials said that repairs to the damaged road section are in progress, and steps are being taken to prevent a repeat of such incidents.
The Girgaon site is one of several locations where rehabilitation buildings are being developed for Metro Line 3, which will link Colaba to SEEPZ via Bandra, forming an underground north–south rapid transit route through Mumbai.

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