Mumbai man dies after falling into open manhole on Khairani Road
A 55-year-old resident of Khairani Road in Mumbai, Aslam Isak Shaikh, died on Thursday after falling into an unguarded manhole during heavy rain. The tragic incident sparked intense political outrage on Friday, with leaders raising sharp questions about the thousands of manholes across the city that still lack protective safety nets.
During the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Legislative Council on Friday, Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap raised the issue of Shaikh's death and demanded a detailed discussion on manhole safety. However, Council chairperson Ram Shinde rejected the request for a debate.
The tragedy has led to sharp criticism of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Reacting to the incident, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar called for stringent action against the civic officials responsible. Narwekar stated that those responsible should be booked for culpable homicide, arguing that mere suspension is no longer an adequate punishment.
According to figures presented by Jagtap to the House, Mumbai has a total of 1,03,996 manholes. While 96,383 of these have been fitted with protective nets, Jagtap alleged that 4,446 manholes continue to lack safety nets or warning signs, posing a grave risk to the public.
Jagtap noted that the BMC only introduced protective nets after the death of gastroenterologist Dr. Deepak Amrapurkar in 2017. He accused the civic body of playing with people's lives as such incidents continue to occur. He also questioned the status of the BMC's proposed "smart manholes" project, stating that the public remains unaware of its progress.
Expressing the fear among residents, Jagtap said that people are scared to step out during the rains, and parents are afraid to send their children to school due to the uncovered manholes acting as potential death traps. He added that a full-fledged discussion in the House would force the civic administration to act more swiftly.
