Mumbai | A 55-year-old man died after falling into an open manhole in Mumbai amid heavy rains on Thursday, prompting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to suspend four civic officials and form a high-level probe committee, officials said.
The incident, which drew sharp reactions from various leaders over Mumbai’s monsoon preparedness, occurred in the Chandivali area in the western suburbs. It is the second rain-related death reported in the city this week.
Mayor Ritu Tawde, who visited the spot, announced an assistance of Rs 10 lakh for the family of the deceased, the BMC said in a release, adding that the contractor has been blacklisted.
According to BMC officials, three contractual workers had removed the cover to install a protective grill on a manhole on a sewer line along Khariani Road when the man, who was allegedly talking on his mobile phone, fell into the opening.
Fire brigade and civic disaster management teams conducted a search, and the man’s body was recovered later.
Footage from a CCTV camera showed Aslam Ishaq Shaikh, the victim, walking past a tempo and suddenly disappearing. It also showed workers at the spot peering into the open manhole located in the Kurla-Sakinaka area.
Officials said the workers lowered a ladder into the manhole to search for him, but found only his umbrella and slippers. Due to the strong flow of water, it was initially not possible to determine the direction in which he had been swept, officials said.
Shaikh was later located some distance away from the spot where he had fallen, they said. “A fireman equipped with breathing apparatus descended into the underground line and he was pulled out,” an official said.
He was rushed to the civic-run Rajawadi Hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the BMC official said.
Four officials from L-ward -- Assistant Commissioner Dhanaji Herlekar, Assistant/Sub-Engineer (Maintenance) Deepak Chougule, Junior Engineer (Maintenance) Abhijit Chougule and Assistant Engineer (Sewerage Operations) Uttam Patil -- were suspended, a BMC release said.
Prima facie, the contractor had failed to ensure adequate safety measures at the site, the release said. The contractor has been blacklisted, it added.
Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide constituted a high-level inquiry committee headed by the Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) to probe the manhole death and recommend measures to prevent such accidents in future. The panel has been asked to submit its report within seven days, the release said.
The civic body also directed all its departments to ensure barricading around manhole work sites and ordered a 100 per cent inspection of all manholes across Mumbai within the next eight days.
The BMC said Shaikh was talking on his mobile phone when he approached the work site. Workers reportedly tried to alert him, but he lost his balance and fell into the manhole, it said.
Mayor Tawde visited the manhole site and later met Shaikh's son and other family members at the hospital and offered her condolences.
There was no reason for opening the manhole when heavy rainfall had been forecast, the mayor said. "I will not tolerate any act that endangers the lives of citizens. Anyone compromising public safety while carrying out work at public places will not be spared. It is extremely unfortunate that an innocent citizen lost his life due to an open manhole," she said.
Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi said the civic body will file a case against the contractor, holding him responsible for “homicide”. The Shiv Sena leader also blamed commissioner Bhide, claiming that he had alerted her about expired contracts for manhole maintenance and the absence of protective safety grills. He had submitted a letter to the commissioner and reminded her again during a meeting two days ago but no steps were taken, he alleged.
Sena (UBT) leader and Member of Legislative Council Milind Narvekar defended Bhide in a post on X, saying it would not be appropriate to hold her solely responsible.
Tagging Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Narvekar said the incident was "outrageous" and those responsible at the local level should face strict action, but any negligence by local officials should be examined before fixing responsibility on the municipal commissioner.
Kishori Pednekar, Shiv Sena (UBT) member and opposition leader in the BMC, said it was shocking that such an incident could occur on a busy arterial road while civic work was in progress.
She questioned the absence of adequate safety measures around the open manhole.
Former MP and Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora described the manhole death as a preventable tragedy and demanded accountability.
“How many more Mumbaikars must die before basic civic safety becomes a priority? Open manholes are not “accidents”, they are result of negligence, failed systems and lack of accountability,” he wrote on X.
The matter was also raised in the Maharashtra assembly.
Speaker Rahul Narwekar called the manhole death a serious matter and said it amounted to a “culpable homicide”. He also asked the state government to place a detailed statement in the House on the incident before the day’s proceedings concluded.
Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal conceded that prima facie there were significant lapses in implementing safety protocols. CCTV footage showed that the manhole had been opened by workers installing a protective grill, but it lacked the mandatory barricading, she told the House.
This is the second rain-related death in the city this week. An 11-year-old boy was killed, and four other children were injured after an old roadside peepal tree fell on their school bus in Chembur in eastern Mumbai.
Last week, a BMC supervisor fell into a water channel next to where Tawde was inspecting waterlogging in a Mumbai locality after heavy rains.
Manhole deaths have also been reported in Mumbai in the past.
In 2017, prominent gastroenterologist Dr Deepak Amarapurkar died after falling into an open manhole in the Prabhadevi area in central Mumbai, sparking massive outrage.
