42-year-old supervisor fall to his death; 3rd accident at Metro 9 sites

A 42-year-old supervisor died after falling 70 feet at a Mumbai metro construction site. MMRDA penalized contractors ₹50 lakh and consultants ₹5 lakh.

MUMBAI: The spate of accidents at construction sites continues apace. On Saturday, a 42-year-old supervisor, who was overseeing the construction of the Dahisar-Mira-Bhayander metro line (Metro 9), died on the job. The contractor and consultant have been penalised ₹50 lakh and ₹5 lakh respectively by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

42-year-old supervisor fall to his death; 3rd accident at Metro 9 sites

The supervisor, Farhan Tehzeed Ahmed, who was at the construction site of the Sai Baba Nagar metro station, reportedly lost his balance and fell from a height of 70 feet onto the road below. A crowd gathered within minutes, and Ahmed was first rushed to a private health facility, Sunrise Hospital, which is adjacent to the construction site. There, he was referred to the Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Government Hospital in Bhayander, where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

On the day of the accident, the police checked if the construction site had adequate safety measures to prevent accidents. For now, the Mira Road police have registered an accidental death case. A parallel inquiry was also ordered by MMRDA, wherein it was found that there were safety lapses by the contractors, Gajanan Construction and N A Construction.

A person in the know told Hindustan Times that Ahmed was an employee of Gajanan Construction, while Systra India-CEG were the general consultants who had to ensure that protocols and guidelines were followed in toto. Following the accident, MMRDA on Monday levied a ₹50-lakh penalty on the consortium of Gajanan Construction and N A Construction and a ₹5-lakh penalty on Systra India-CEG.

MMRDA commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee was messaged by Hindustan Times on the fatality and the spate of incidents involving construction sites, but did not reply.