3 min readMumbaiMay 8, 2019 02:18 AM IST
First published on: May 8, 2019 at 02:07 AM IST
The move comes nearly two years after a doctor died after falling into an open manhole on a flooded road near Prabhadevi.
Weeks ahead of the arrival of monsoon, the BMC has covered 2,765 “dangerous” manholes in the city with protective grills made of metal mesh.
The move comes nearly two years after a doctor died after falling into an open manhole on a flooded road near Prabhadevi. Senior gastroenterologist Dr Deepak Amrapurkar had fallen into the manhole on August 29, 2017 — the day the city received 315 mm of rainfall.
Of the protective grills installed in the city, 239 have been installed on manholes in Prabhadevi (Elphinstone Road) area. Manhole covers are used over storm-water drains, sewage drains and are also required by the civic hydraulic department. Investigations had revealed that local residents in Prabhadevi had removed manhole covers to allow rainwater to flow out, eventually resulting in Amrapurkar’s death. The protective grills installed below the manholes cannot be removed without machinery.
Following the 2017 incident, the BMC, in coordination with the ward officers, had made a list of manholes that needed to be covered in low-lying, flood-prone and high footfall areas. The civic body went on to release a list of 3,315 manholes across the island city and suburbs. “The remaining covers (550) will be installed before monsoon,” said Shrikant Kawale, chief engineer, storm-water drains department. The grills, each worth around Rs 9,480, are being installed in a phased manner. As part of phase 1, BMC has installed grills on 1,742 manholes in the island city. The maximum number of grills, 476, have been installed in in G-North ward that includes Dadar. Under phase 2, as of April 30, BMC has installed 1,023 of the 1,573 grills in both the island city and suburbs. The highest number of grills have been installed in western suburbs, covering areas like Bandra and Andheri (East).
According to data furnished by the BMC, the island city has the maximum number of manholes that need to be covered.
“The departments have been asked to coordinate immediately when any manhole cover goes missing to ensure that it is replaced in time and an untoward incident is avoided. Besides publishing advertisement in newspapers, the civic body has also asked residents to not remove the covers,” said Kawale.
The move comes nearly two years after a doctor died after falling into an open manhole on a flooded road near Prabhadevi.
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