Mumbai Heavy Rain: A 55-year-old man died tragically after falling into an open manhole amid heavy rain in Mumbai. BMC has said that a case of culpable homicide will be registered against the contractor.
A painful accident amid continuous heavy rains in Mumbai has raised serious questions on the security arrangements of the city. A 55-year-old man fell into an open manhole on the Khairani Road connecting Andheri-Sakinaka and Kurla-Ghatkopar on Thursday afternoon. It is being told that he was passing through the road while talking on the mobile phone, when he was swept away by the strong current and ended up in a manhole. His body was recovered after a rescue operation that lasted for about two hours. After this incident, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that strict action will be taken against the private contractor concerned.
Accident happened while talking on mobile, declared dead in hospital
The deceased has been identified as Aslam Esaf Shaikh. The accident happened around 12:30 pm on Thursday. His umbrella and slippers were recovered from the spot, after which the team of Mumbai Fire Brigade, Police and 108 Ambulance jointly started the search operation. About two hours later, his body was recovered and taken to Rajawadi Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
According to preliminary information, the lid of the manhole into which the man fell was left open due to ongoing maintenance work by a private contractor. Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi said that a case of culpable homicide will be registered against the contractor in this matter.
Scroll to load tweet…
Mumbai is in trouble due to heavy rains, waterlogging in many areas
Torrential rains continued in Mumbai on Thursday also. Waterlogging continued in many areas including Dadar, Parel, Hindmata, Charkop, Worli, Goregaon and Andheri. According to BMC, more than 200 mm of rain was recorded in many parts of the city in the last 24 hours.
An average rainfall of 189 mm was recorded in the eastern suburbs, 172 mm in the island city and 165 mm in the western suburbs. Santa Cruz SWM Workshop and Bhandup S Ward Office recorded the highest rainfall of 238.8 mm. Mumbai local train services were also affected for some time due to waterlogging and passengers faced delays of 10 to 15 minutes.
IMD’s alert, a major accident has happened before too
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert of heavy to extremely heavy rain in Mumbai and suburbs. There is a possibility of extremely heavy rain at some places along with strong winds at a speed of 50 to 60 km per hour on Thursday night and Friday morning. It is noteworthy that two days ago, an 11-year-old student was killed when a tree fell on a school bus in Chembur, while four others were injured. In that case, BMC had suspended an officer after being found negligent.
Continuous accidents are indicating that any lapse in security arrangements during monsoon can cost the lives of common people. In such a situation, along with the administration, citizens also need to be alert from potentially dangerous places like waterlogged areas and open manholes.