Mumbai: The BMC will issue a show-cause notice to the maintenance contractor following the incident in which a biker fell into a drain on Grant Road. Civic officials from the Storm Water Drain (SWD) department will also review the condition of drains and manholes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
On Tuesday night, Usman Wasim, a resident of Dongri, fell into a drain on MS Ali Road in the Grant Road area after its rusty and old lid collapsed. Although he was fortunate to escape with only minor injuries, the incident has raised concerns among citizens.
Abhijeet Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects), stated, "Fortunately, there was no rain at the time of the incident, and the biker held onto a ladder inside the drain. However, this situation is not justifiable and cannot be ignored. I have instructed the SWD officials to demand an explanation from the maintenance contractor."
He has also directed the civic officials to review all drains and manholes across the city, ensuring that they are properly covered and that any damaged ones are repaired immediately. According to sources, the drain (access shaft) has been repaired following the incident. Despite repeated attempts, Shridhar Chaudhari, Chief Engineer of the SWD, did not respond to calls from this reporter.
As per Bombay High Court directives, the BMC began installing protective grills across the city’s flood-prone areas to reduce the risk of people falling into drains since last year. Civic officials claimed that all manholes were covered with protective grills during this monsoon. There are a total of 74,693 manholes on sewer lines and 22,593 on storm water drains.
