LUCKNOW, June 4 -- The Jal Nigam has finally launched a Rs 14.5-crore project to repair and strengthen the sewer line running through the densely populated Vikas Nagar area of the state capital. Work is now underway, months after residents raised an alarm over multiple sinkholes and road cave-ins that occurred previously, officials said. The project will cover a 1,775-metre stretch from Gulachin Mandir to Indian Bank on Picnic Spot Road and is expected to be completed by April 11, 2026. A private company based in Mumbai has been contracted for the work, they added. According to Jal Nigam executive engineer Divyanshu Kumar Singh, the project involves the use of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) pipe lining, a trenchless technology that avoids full road excavation. "This technique allows us to strengthen the damaged sewer lines from within," he explained. Singh confirmed that once completed, the upgraded system is expected to last at least 20 years. "Excavation for pit preparation has begun. This work is critical because the cave-ins were caused by old, leaking lines. Gas pressure built up due to lack of ventilation, and the shifting soil beneath the roads made them collapse," he said. Residents of Vikas Nagar, Jankipuram, Shankarpurwa, and surrounding areas have endured years of risk and inconvenience due to recurring road collapses. Sinkholes opened up all of a sudden, endangering commuters. Previously on December 15, 2024, a cave-in left a 20-foot-wide and 27-foot-long sinkhole in front of PNB in Vikas Nagar. Repairs took months as workers had to carefully relocate underground high-tension power cables, gas lines, water pipes, and optical fibre cables before taking up the actual repair. Just weeks later, another road cave-in hit the Tedhi Pulia area in the early hours of January 14, 2025. A massive crater about 16 feet long and 20 feet wide formed without warning. That incident was also attributed to a collapsed sewer line, as confirmed by Amarjeet, incharge of Zone 3....