Second monsoon death exposes Mumbai’s civic negligence; it’s an open manhole this time

Within days of an 11-year-old boy’s death due to a falling tree, a 55-year-old man has died after falling into an open manhole in Mumbai, raising further questions on the city’s monsoon preparedness.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has suspended four civic officials and formed a high-level probe committee.

An avoidable accident

The incident happened amid heavy rains on Thursday (July 2) at Chandivali in the western suburbs.

According to BMC officials, three contractual workers had removed the manhole 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, accidentally fell into the opening.

Also read: Heavy rain lashes Mumbai; waterlogging, traffic disruptions reported

Workers reportedly tried to alert him, but he lost his balance and fell into the manhole, the BMC said.

Fire brigade and civic disaster management teams conducted a search operation and the man’s body was recovered later.

Swept away by current

Footage from a CCTV camera installed in the area showed the man, later identified as Aslam Ishaq Shaikh, 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, citing preliminary information.

Also read: 11-year-old’s death puts lens on Mumbai’s monsoon preparedness again

The man was later located some distance from where he had fallen, they said. “A fireman equipped with breaching apparatus descended into the underground line and the man was pulled out,” an official said.

He was rushed to the civic-run Rajavadi Hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the BMC official said.

Ex-gratia announced, contractor blamed

Mayor Ritu Tawde, who visited the spot, has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the family of the deceased, the BMC said in a release, adding that the contractor has been blacklisted.

Four civic officials from the L-ward have been suspended. They have been identified as Assistant Commissioner Dhanaji Herlekar, Assistant/Sub-Engineer (Maintenance) Deepak Chougule, Junior Engineer (Maintenance) Abhijit Chougule and Assistant Engineer (Sewerage Operations) Uttam Patil, the 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.

Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi said the civic body will file a case against the contractor, holding him responsible for “homicide”.

Probe report within 7 days

Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has constituted a high-level inquiry committee headed by the Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) to probe into 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.

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The civic body has directed all 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 matter was also raised in the Maharashtra assembly.

Speaker Rahul Narwekar called the manhole death a serious matter and said it amounted to “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.

‘Result of negligence’

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.

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“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.

Mumbai and monsoon tragedies

This is the second rain-related death in the city this week. An 11-year-old boy was killed, and four 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.

In September 2024, a woman died after falling into a stormwater drain in Andheri during a heavy downpour.

(With agency inputs)