New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) The floor of a decades-old saree shop in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk area caved in on Wednesday, plunging nearly 15 feet into an old well beneath, swallowing goods and fixtures, according to a local shopkeeper.
Sanjay Bhargaw, president of the Chandni Chowk Traders’ Association, said the incident took place around 11 am when the shop owner and two others were inside.
“The shop floor just gave way. Everything — people, shelves, sarees went down with it. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Locals rushed in to help and pulled them out,” he told PTI.
According to Bhargaw, the shopkeeper had no idea that the building may have been constructed over a dried-up well.
“Only after today’s incident did people realise there was a hollow space below. Sewer water might have been seeping into it for years, weakening the foundation,” he added.
While some attribute the collapse to poor sewer maintenance and waterlogging common in Old Delhi during monsoon, others believe the structural weakness due to the old well is a more direct cause.
A Delhi BJP spokesperson blamed the AAP-led Delhi government and the Delhi Jal Board for years of “negligence” and called for urgent intervention.
“The entire sewer system of Old Delhi is clogged, collapsing, and overflowing. This is the result of ten years of apathy under the Kejriwal government,” the party said in a statement.
The BJP requested that the minister in charge of the Delhi Jal Board, Parvesh Verma, ensure immediate cleaning of Old Delhi’s sewer network and introduce a comprehensive Sewer Master Plan to prevent such incidents in the future. PTI SHB VN VN
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