Haldwani, Sept. 16 -- After a gap of nearly seven years, the Lower Mall Road in Nainital has once again suffered damage, with the road developing cracks and sinking towards the lakeside. The Nainital district administration, acting on the advice of the Public Works Department (PWD), has shut the road for vehicular traffic as a precautionary measure. Nainital sub-divisional magistrate Nawazish Khaliq said, "A 50-foot-long crack appeared on Lower Mall Road shortly after midnight on Sunday, causing part of the road to cave in. In such a situation, the road is not safe for movement. The PWD has carried out a technical inspection, and for public safety, traffic has been suspended until further orders." "A diversion for four-wheelers from Lower Mall Road to Upper Mall Road near the library has already been created. After further technical assessment by the PWD, only pedestrians and two-wheelers will be allowed to use the damaged stretch," Khaliq added. PWD executive engineer Ratnesh Saxena said, "The road has sunk by about eight inches. We are currently building a ramp and carrying out temporary repairs. Once full-fledged repair work begins, even pedestrians and two-wheelers will be restricted from using the road." In August 2018, around 25 metres of the Lower Mall Road had caved in into Naini Lake. "Bidding for the permanent repair work has been completed, and construction is scheduled to start soon. At present, we have stabilised the area temporarily using sand, cement and asphalt," he said. Explaining the cause of the recurrent damage, Saxena said fluctuations in the lake's water level wash away fine soil particles, leaving the lake's retaining walls hollow and weakening the road above. "A comprehensive, long-term plan based on a detailed technical survey is required for permanent restoration," he added. Caving in of Nainital's famous Lower Mall Road into the Nainital lake has made people apprehensive that all is not well with the fragile ecology of the Himalayan lake and the slopes around or near it .Nainital lake is laden with soft sedimentary rocks, which makes them very fragile and prone to caving in and landslides. Ecologically sensitive Nainital Lake is situated at an elevation of 1938 metres, with a width of 360 metres and 1442 metres at present. There has been a consistent demand that the fragile hill station be declared an eco-sensitive zone. Locals are putting forth various factors that could be leading to these geological disturbances ranging from manmade to natural. The geological terrain around the Nainital Lake has soft sedimentary rocks, which makes it fragile and prone to landslides. They also point out that the Lower Mall Road is over a century old, on which vehicular traffic has increased many times in the last few decades, creating pressure on the roads near the lake fringe....