An 18-foot-deep, three-metre-wide crater suddenly opened on Kanpur’s Saraiya intersection after heavy overnight rain, turning into a dramatic “waterfall” as floodwater poured in. Locals say repeated complaints about earlier potholes were ignored, blaming a leaking sewer line and poor civic work. Police barricaded the area, while viral videos and sarcastic social media posts slammed municipal and government negligence.
IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROAD in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, an 18-foot-deep hole appeared, and rainwater rigorously fell inside, making it appear like what people called a “waterfall.” The hole appeared after the city observed heavy rainfall since the night of Tuesday, August 25, 2026. On Wednesday morning, August 26, 2026, the road caved in.
The incident happened on the road at Saraiya intersection in Jajmau, Kanpur, where the road caved in.
Many people who were using this route faced inconvenience, and locals said that this is not the first time this has happened, despite this no concrete solutions have appeared. A video of the road looking like a waterfall has been going viral on social media, with many people sharing it. In the video, water from the surrounding flooded streets was falling inside the big, 3-metre-wide and 18-foot-deep hole.
As the hole appeared in the road, a large crowd of people gathered around it, shocked and terrified. This was not the only area affected, as many areas in Kanpur were filled with rainwater and faced waterlogging problems. This incident has again exposed the Municipal Corporation’s ineffectiveness and work. As a precaution, police barricaded the area to prevent accidents involving people in vehicles.
As per Jagran, the former councillor of the area, Shamim Akhtar, said that the potholes had formed two months ago. He said that a complaint was made to the Municipal Corporation, and the Jalkal team filled the hole with debris. Under the hole there is a sewer line, and leakage in the line resulted in the road caving in.
The Opposition party Congress also posted this on X along with a comment: “The BJP government has arranged a waterfall in Kanpur, UP. This waterfall, right in the middle of the road, has been constructed using Japanese technology. What do you think of this splendid work by the BJP government?”
Many people reacted to this with humour, with some comparing it to Switzerland and saying that Kanpur is rivaling Switzerland with its roadside waterfall, while others highlighted the poor condition of the roads.
One person wrote, “Ye to Singapore ka Airport ke jaisa 'Vortex' banaya hai Yogi Babu ne!” Many others called it the Niagara Falls of India, while several compared it with Salaulim Dam. Another wrote, “Kanpur didn’t fix the waterlogging. It just installed a waterfall and called it development. Entry free. Survival extra.”
One other wrote sarcastically, “That's good, and if it gets deeper every two-four kilometers, there won't be water pooling on the road, man, you guys have a really bad perspective. Look from the minister's perspective…”
Another wrote, “New India, New Technology! After the waterfalls and ponds of Gurugram, now 'In-Built Waterfall Technology' has arrived on the streets of Kanpur. Taxpayers' money is being flushed away just like that into the water on the roads, and the public is being asked to celebrate it with a 'festive atmosphere'!”
(Edited by Agniva Ray)
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