KUALA LUMPUR: Fears of another sinkhole in Masjid India here have been quashed by Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif.
She said the 8.39am incident at Jalan Bunus yesterday was only a case of ground settlement and not a repeat of last year’s tragedy.
Maimunah said early checks found no burst pipes or underground leaks, assuring the public that the situation is stable and there is no cause for alarm.
“When I went to the site at 2pm, we opened up the tiles around the area to see if there were any leaking pipes, and thankfully, there were none.
“It also rained this morning, and we wanted to ensure whether there was loose soil.
“We have to find out the cause of the ground settlement. But there is no need to panic, it’s not a sinkhole,” Maimunah told The Star.
She added that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had just appointed a geotechnical consultant to monitor the site.
Just over two weeks after authorities revealed the true cause of last year’s Masjid India sinkhole, another ground settlement occurred in the same area, raising fresh questions about the stability of ageing underground infrastructure in the city centre.
Teams from DBKL, Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department, Air Selangor, Indah Water Konsortium and the Dang Wangi district police were on site to carry out investigations in the incident.
For safety reasons, Jalan Masjid India was temporarily closed to all vehicles from Lorong Masjid India 4 to the affected stretch.
By 6pm, contractors had patched up the affected portion of the road. The stretch has reopened to traffic.
Monitoring and technical assessments are ongoing, and further updates will be issued in due course.
On Oct 24, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa told the Dewan Rakyat that investigations by a special task force revealed that last year’s incident was caused by the failure of a corroded sewer pipe structure, worsened by soil instability, and not the presence of limestone as initially feared.
She added that the task force presented its full findings to the Cabinet in August, while DBKL is preparing a public report to be released by the end of the year.
In response to increasing public concern, DBKL has begun geotechnical studies along key routes in the Golden Triangle to determine soil profiles and stability.
Early findings show no locations currently classified as high-risk.
Indian tourist G. Vijayalakshmi, 48, went missing after she fell into an 8m-deep sinkhole that suddenly opened beneath her feet on the morning of Aug 23 last year.
