A concrete drainage which was laid recently as part of the Smart City work reportedly collapsed at Taad-Maad at St Inez, in the process endangering the well-known Taad-Maad shrine and the historic banyan tree. It has reportedly been barely 25 days since the drain was built and it has already collapsed, raising doubts about the stability of other structures built as part of the Smart City work. The powers-that-be have blamed the collapse of the drain to the continuous rain. This seems absurd. Obviously there will be continuous rains during the rainy season. Will it lead to more structures meeting the same fate? It is understood that the rainfall caused the water table to rise sharply at the site. Under this condition the sandy soil beneath the drain began caving, leading to the sinking of the side drain. A pipeline was reportedly being laid at the site. It must be said that soil-testing forms an important part of any construction work. It is done to determine the bearing capacity of the soil, its settlement rate and the position of the water table. It is observed that roads have been caving in at several places across the state. The question that arises is whether proper soil-testing has been done before pipelines have been laid and roads tarred.
