MUMBAI: The BMC’s M East ward on Monday imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on construction company M/s Force Construction Pvt Ltd for its stormwater drain work on Kamla Raman Nagar Road in Govandi. The penalty follows a complaint by resident Afsana Shaikh, who blamed the lack of proper safety measures for her slip and fall, resulting in a leg fracture.
Shaikh explained the ordeal, saying, “I stepped out on the morning of February 19 to get breakfast. However, there was hardly any place to walk because part of the road was dug up, with the excavated material occupying the other part of the road. I stepped on the pipes, slipped, and fell.”
On doing the rounds at Rajawadi Hospital and K.J. Somaiya Hospital, she was told a bone in her leg had fractures, and she may need an operation. “My leg had swollen and turned black, so they couldn’t operate immediately. They placed a temporary plaster on my leg, followed by a permanent one. I’ve been called in again on Monday,” said Shaikh.
The doctors have informed her that she will need a minimum of three months’ rest. This leaves Shaikh, a single mother with a seven-year-old child, without a source of income for the duration. “I work as a teacher, and I had to leave the job because of my injury. I was earning ₹9,000 per month, but now I’ll have to find another place to teach after I recover,” she added. While she was not facing any immediate financial worry due to living with her mother and having familial support, the thought of spending months in bed without employment worried her.
Her brother and civic activist, Faiyaz Shaikh, wrote a complaint to the BMC the day after the accident. “There are plenty of anomalies on the site: no safety measurements have been made, no contractor-maintained barricades are blocking pedestrian movement, and neither a technical site engineer nor a supervisor are present when work is being done,” said his complaint. “We demand that the vigilance team and other concerned city officials make an urgent visit and severely penalise the contractor, as this is not the first time they have engaged in the same behaviours. We also ask that they recompense the victims by covering the expense of early medical care.”
{{/usCountry}}Her brother and civic activist, Faiyaz Shaikh, wrote a complaint to the BMC the day after the accident. “There are plenty of anomalies on the site: no safety measurements have been made, no contractor-maintained barricades are blocking pedestrian movement, and neither a technical site engineer nor a supervisor are present when work is being done,” said his complaint. “We demand that the vigilance team and other concerned city officials make an urgent visit and severely penalise the contractor, as this is not the first time they have engaged in the same behaviours. We also ask that they recompense the victims by covering the expense of early medical care.”
{{/usCountry}}After inspections, the BMC fined M/s Force Construction Pvt Ltd for multiple lapses, including failure to remove surplus excavated material, inadequate barricading, and a lack of temporary arrangements for public entry. While the official investigation is ongoing to determine the direct link between the road work and the incident, the imposed fine addresses the identified safety violations. Unsatisfied with the BMC’s actions, Shaikh and her brother plan to file a legal notice seeking compensation for medical expenses incurred during the aftermath of the accident.
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