Three days of heavy rainfall across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region have claimed five lives, with a 60-year-old man dying after falling into an open manhole in Mumbai's Sakinaka area on Thursday morning.
The incident has raised serious questions over safety measures at a civic work site, with eyewitnesses alleging negligence by the workers.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident took place at around 10.30 am when the deceased, Aslam Isak Shaikh, was on his way to work. They said labourers had opened a manhole near SJ Studio on Khairani Road in Sakinaka to carry out maintenance work amid heavy rain.
Eyewitnesses alleged that after working for about an hour, the labourers left the site for a tea break, leaving the manhole open without barricades or warning signs. They claimed Shaikh, who had weak eyesight, failed to notice the open manhole and fell into it.
He further alleged that after Shaikh fell into the manhole, the workers closed the manhole instead of immediately attempting a rescue, allegedly to avoid creating panic at the spot. Residents claimed they repeatedly alerted the workers that a man had fallen inside, but no immediate action was taken.
According to an eyewitness, the Mumbai Fire Brigade reached the spot around one-and-a-half hours after the incident. They alleged that the manhole was reopened only after the fire brigade arrived and that no rescue efforts were made before then. The rescue operation continued for nearly two hours, and Shaikh was pulled out around three hours after the incident.
A family member blamed the BMC and the contractor for the tragedy. "This happened because of the negligence of the BMC and the workers. If the manhole had been properly barricaded, this would not have happened. The rescue operation continued for nearly three hours. Had immediate action been taken, my uncle could have been saved. Today it is my uncle; tomorrow it could be someone else," the relative said.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the accident occurred while protective grilles were being installed over a manhole on Khairani Road in Kurla's Sakinaka area. At first glance, the contractor appeared to have failed to follow basic safety measures during the work.
Mayor Ritu Tawde has announced an ex gratia compensation of ₹10 lakh for Shaikh's family.
Mumbai Mayor said the victim was unable to notice the open manhole while walking in the rain because the workers had left the site after removing its cover.
"It is a very serious lapse on the part of the administration. There was absolutely no justification for leaving the manhole open. I have been continuously following up on this matter, speaking to officials over the phone and reviewing the situation regularly.
I repeatedly instructed the administration that such incidents should not happen in Mumbai. The manhole was already closed, and there was no need to remove its cover and install a protective grille during heavy rainfall. This work should have been completed before the monsoon began. If such work had to be carried out during the rainy season, the weather forecast should have been taken into consideration.
The India Meteorological Department had already issued a Red Alert for Mumbai. Despite that, if such work was being carried out, then strict action was inevitable.
I have directed that the concerned officials, including the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners, Additional Commissioners and other responsible officers, be suspended on the spot. I have also ordered that a culpable homicide case be registered against the contractor and that the contractor be blacklisted.
Along with this, the concerned ward officer, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner and Junior Engineer have also been suspended. I have brought the suspension orders with me, and the action has been taken immediately."
"It is alarming that even the ward officer was unaware of the work being carried out at the site. No work order had been issued for this project. Even if a private contractor had undertaken the work, proper barricades should have been installed at the location," the mayor said.
However, heavy rain has also claimed four other lives across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The victims include a 17-year-old boy who drowned in Kharghar, a 26-year-old man who died of electrocution in Bhiwandi, a 51-year-old man killed in a building collapse in Walkeshwar, and a 45-year-old man who died after a ceiling collapsed in Kamothe. In a separate incident, two college students suffered electric shock in waterlogged conditions in Nerul.
