Footpath caves in on Village Road in Bhandup West plunging two two-wheelers into drain

A three-to-four-meter portion of a footpath caved in on Village Road near the police chowky in Bhandup (West), Mumbai, on Sunday morning, causing two parked two-wheelers to plunge into an underlying drain. No injuries or casualties were reported following the sudden collapse.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) S ward officials quickly responded to the site, where they barricaded the damaged area to prevent further accidents. The officials successfully recovered the two vehicles that had fallen into the drain.

According to S ward officials, an old major drain, locally known as a nullah, flows directly beneath the footpath. The civic body confirmed that plans for the reconstruction of the drain are already in progress.

"There is an old major nullah flowing beneath the footpath, which is to be reconstructed. A proposal has been submitted and the tender process is underway," a ward official stated. The official added that the immediate plan of action involves restoring the collapsed footpath, conducting a structural safety audit, and eventually reconstructing both the footpath and the drain.

Former Congress corporator Suresh Koparkar, whose wife Asha Koparkar is the incumbent local corporator for the area, pointed out that the 15-foot-wide footpath is typically used by a large number of local pedestrians.

"Fortunately, there were no casualties. Had the incident occurred later in the day, many people could have fallen into the nullah," Koparkar said.

Koparkar added that the underlying drain was constructed approximately 17 to 18 years ago, and no maintenance work has been executed on it since its completion. He stated that he has been repeatedly pursuing the BMC administration for the last several years to conduct a structural audit of the drain and replace the footpath tiles. He also noted that central agencies have done no work in the area.