Biker falls into drain at Grant Road, survives thanks to no rain

Residents and shopkeepers who rescued Wasim took him to JJ Hospital where he was later discharged after being treated for minor injuries

Mumbai: While most incidents of motorists or pedestrians falling into stormwater drains (SWD) turn out to be fatal, especially during the rainy season, a 37-year-old man had a miraculous escape Tuesday night after his bike fell into the drain on MS Ali Road in the Grant Road area after its rusty and old lid caved in.

Biker falls into drain at Grant Rd, survives thanks to no rain

“Fortunately, there was no rain at the time of the incident and the biker held onto the ladder inside the drain. Later, residents of the area rescued him,” said Shridhar Chaudhari, chief engineer, SWD.

The man, Usman G Wasim, a resident of Dongri, fell inside the SWD when his bike ran over the drain, which dates back to the British era. The cover collapsed, taking the biker and another two-wheeler along. While the two-wheeler remained suspended inside the drain, Wasim hung onto a ladder. “Had it been raining, it would have been nearly impossible to rescue the man as the drain would have been flooded and the victim would have been washed away,” said an eyewitness.

Residents and shopkeepers who rescued Wasim took him to JJ Hospital where he was later discharged after being treated for minor injuries.

Shridhar Chaudhari added that the lid of the SWD was old and rusted, and a part of the cover broke after the bike ran over it. “It is really unfortunate that the biker fell into the drain but luckily he was rescued and sustained minor injuries,” said Chaudhari.

Aahad Ansari, another eyewitness and resident of the area, told HT, “The metal lid on the drain was cut at the corners three days ago since the BMC wanted to clean it. The lid corners were weak and they welded it instead of repairing it despite telling the contractor. The welding was done three days ago and we had pointed out that due to heavy traffic, it may cave in. And our fear came true with this incident.”

Santosh Daundkar, an RTI activist and resident of the area has written to the civic chief and administrator Bhushan Gagrani that the incident occurred due to the negligence of the contractor and the BMC’s SWD department.

“The contractor is doing only welding work on lids which is temporary work. This will not solve the core issue. It is necessary to appoint a new contractor and find a permanent solution to this. There are also many such access shafts in the city on the roads and proper maintenance is required of all these drains and shafts. Had it rained heavily there would be no chance of the man’s survival and he would have landed straight in Worli Naka,” he said. Daundkar added that taxpayers’ money is used for beautification work in the city at the behest of politicians but BMC is ignoring basic maintenance of such British-era amenities. “There should be a structural audit of all such drains and work should only be awarded to reputed contractors,” added Daundkar.

When a civic official from SWD was queried about whether an action will be initiated against the contractor or not, he said, “There was no contractor appointed for this work. The work on that drain was done six years ago by the central agency and the work on putting a cover is usually done at the ward level. There was no welding work or any work done on the lid recently and we can say that with guarantee.”