BMC installs protective nets over 3,679 manholes across Mumbai

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has installed 3,679 protective nets over manholes across the city ahead of monsoon. The civic body has also started repairing damaged manholes and replacing broken ones.

According to officials from the Storm Water Drain (SWD) department, these protective nets are meant to protect people from falling down manholes even if they are left open during flooding. “Every year before monsoon, our team inspect manholes in the city. Besides fixing damaged manholes, we install nets to prevent any untoward incidents. We have also appealed to residents not to remove the manhole cover in case of flooding in their areas,” said a BMC official Friday.

In August 2017 during a deluge in the city, Dr Deepak Amarapurkar, who was walking towards his home near Elphinstone Road station, fell down a manhole that was left open by local residents to drain the area faster. This triggered a debate on road safety as in many cases manholes are left open without any supervision.

According to data released by the BMC on Friday, 2,945 nets were installed in the island city, 293 in the eastern suburbs and 441 in the western suburbs.