Surat: Two separate incidents of city buses getting stuck on Surat roads on Monday raised questions over the Surat Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) claims of pre-monsoon preparedness, after a road cave-in in Pandesara and another mishap at a work site in the Pal area.In the first incident, a city bus carrying passengers was moving through the Vadod area of Pandesara at around 30 kmph when the road suddenly caved in. The front wheels of the bus dropped into the depression, causing a jolt that dislodged the front windscreen, which fell onto the road. A few passengers sustained minor injuries, and the bus remained stuck until help arrived.SMC officials said preliminary findings pointed to an underground water supply leak as the likely cause. “During inspection, we found leakage in a 450mm underground water pipeline, which may have led to soil erosion beneath the surface. The top layer appeared intact when the bus got stuck,” an official said.According to the civic body, the road and water pipeline were laid a few years ago, and the leakage is believed to have developed over the past few weeks, gradually weakening the subsoil. Repair and resurfacing work has been initiated at the site, officials said.In a separate incident in the Pal area, an electric bus got stuck in a muddy patch on a stretch where water pipeline work is currently under way. A trench had been dug and later filled with loose soil, but barricades were reportedly missing when the bus entered the area and became immobilised.Officials said the road was not fully constructed as pipeline work was still in progress. “The pipeline was recently installed and flushing was completed. Joint sealing work was pending. Barricades had been placed until last night, but were removed by someone,” the official said.The bus, reportedly en route to a workshop and carrying no passengers, is believed to have taken the stretch to avoid traffic on the main road.
