Cliffdale family worried about sinkhole in yard
The Bophela family is worried that their entire house may disappear into a sinkhole that appeared in their yard overnight.
Sine Thwala
A FAMILY in the Cliffdale area of Coronation have been living under very troubling conditions due to a sinkhole that appeared in their yard overnight.
According to Mr Bonginkosi Bophela, who is the head of the house, the family is uncertain what caused the hole or how deep it is.
“I just woke up one day and the children told me that there was a hole in the yard. I thought nothing of it, but when I went to have a look later that day I saw that the hole seemed to be deep and would pose danger to the children when they play in the yard. I am also worried that the house itself may start sinking as we are uncertain where it starts and ends,” said Mr Bophela.
Mr Bophela’s partner, Tholakele Mdlalose said that the family had contacted the councillor of the area to come and inspect the sinkhole.
“He came through and saw the hole but was also unable to figure out what was causing it. He promised us that he would look into it and that the problem would be fixed,” said Tholakele.
Despite having promised this, the councillor has not contacted the family since and they have tried other means to fix the sinkhole.
“After seeing that the hole was continuing to erode through our yard, we tried to put rocks in it but had to stop because they just seemed to disappear into the hole and it was not getting full,” said Tholakele.
The family has since gone back to waiting for assistance from the councillor of the area but are living in constant fear that something might happen to the children, especially when an adult is not at home.
