The road near Saggu Chowk caved in for the seventh time in the past 15 years, once again exposing the city’s ageing underground sewer infrastructure, as the Municipal Corporation (MC) continued repair work on Friday on the collapsed 72-inch brick sewer line near Lions Bhawan in Kitchlu Nagar. Officials said restoring the damaged sewer, reconstructing the manhole and reopening the affected carriageway would take another 10 to 15 days, while traffic diversions and disruption in water supply continued to inconvenience residents.The latest cave-in has revived concerns over the condition of the stretch, which has witnessed repeated collapses despite several repair works over the years. According to records, the first major cave-in occurred in 2011, when a truck driver lost his life after the road suddenly collapsed beneath his vehicle. Similar incidents were reported in 2019, twice in 2020, 2022, another earlier this year, and now again, making it the seventh such incident on the stretch in 15 years.According to civic officials, the collapse was caused after the ageing 72-inch brick sewer line, estimated to be nearly four decades old, gave way. The failure created a massive cavity beneath the road, resulting in a large section of the carriageway collapsing.The MC teams continued restoration work throughout Friday. Their immediate priority was to safeguard a house situated close to the edge of the damaged road. Officials placed sandbags with the help of girders along the boundary of the house to prevent further soil erosion, while the front portion of the building was covered with tarpaulin as an additional safety measure.A large section of the road has been excavated to allow heavy machinery to enter the damaged sewer chamber and remove accumulated debris. Simultaneously, workers are constructing concrete retaining walls before rebuilding the collapsed sewer manhole.The repair work has become more complicated because several underground utility lines pass through the damaged site. During excavation, one side of the water supply pipeline was disconnected, while another pipeline was accidentally damaged by machinery. To prevent water from entering the excavation pit, nearby tube wells have been temporarily shut.Officials also found underground telecom cables passing through the damaged sewer line. They claimed that the cables carried no identification marks indicating the company that had laid them. The civic body is now trying to identify the telecom operator responsible so that action can be initiated.MC officials said permissions for laying underground cables are now granted through the Invest Punjab portal of the Punjab Government. However, they alleged that local civic authorities are often not informed before companies begin excavation work. Authorities have reportedly taken up the matter with senior authorities in Chandigarh, requesting that companies should be directed to coordinate with local civic teams before carrying out any digging work to prevent similar incidents in future.Assistant Commissioner Jasdev Sekhon said civic teams worked till nearly 3 am on Friday to secure the affected house.“Our first priority was to protect the nearby house from further soil erosion and we were successful in doing that. The repair work is continuing round the clock. One side of the road will be reopened for traffic shortly, but the other side will remain closed as the newly constructed sewer manhole requires time for settling and proper sand compaction. The entire process is expected to take another 10 to 15 days,” he said.Residents of the locality gathered at the site and urged the authorities to complete the repairs quickly. They complained that water supply had been affected while electricity supply was also being disrupted due to the ongoing work. While appreciating the efforts of the workers on site, they said the civic body must prepare a permanent solution instead of repeatedly carrying out emergency repairs.Traffic continued to remain affected throughout the day. Vehicles coming from the PAU side were diverted towards Hambran Road through Kitchlu Nagar after taking a turn near Popli Medical Hall. Traffic travelling from Hambran Road towards Ferozepur Road was diverted via Dandi Swami Chowk and Bharat Nagar Chowk.The diversions have increased congestion inside residential streets, especially in Block B of Kitchlu Nagar, where residents complained of heavy movement of cars, buses and school vans. Residents of Block A said permanent barriers and locked gates had further restricted movement, making daily commuting difficult, particularly during school hours.