Rajendran said the incident, which began as a minor leak spotted last Saturday, escalated into a road cave-in near the Macalister Lane junction on Burma Road, leaving only one lane open to traffic.

“We hope that Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) can fix this in under five days and urgently audit all sewer lines in the city to prevent similar incidents,” he said.

IWK said preliminary checks showed that the collapse was caused by a dislocated joint in the sewer pipe. Repair work, which involves digging up a 13m stretch of the affected road, is expected to take about five days.

The sinkhole caused massive traffic jams in the busy Komtar area yesterday, disrupting the evening rush hour.

Rajendran said IWK had been told to work only at night so that more lanes could be opened during the day.

“We can have two lanes open if IWK works at night. It does not resolve the traffic issues, but it will reduce it,” he said.

Rajendran also said that the sewer line which gave way was installed 61 years ago in 1964 by the former George Town City Council. IWK took over sewer line management nationwide in 1994.

Wastewater expert G Parameswaran said ageing sewer pipes like the one under Jalan Burma were at high risk of failure if not properly maintained.

He said pipes from the 1960s were often made of brittle materials and only built to last 50 to 70 years.

“Without proper upkeep, these old pipes can crack or shift, especially under traffic or soil movement,” he said.