Hotel owner sends 2 men on illegal inspection of choked Borivali sewer, one dead

The mishap took place because the owner of Hotel Tarachand hired “private contractual labourers” to forcefully open a manhole for cleaning, said the BMC

Mumbai: A 35-year-old man who was allegedly deputed by the staff of a prominent restaurant chain to clean a choked sewerage line in Borivali on Thursday died after inhaling toxic fumes while another man tasked with the same job was rescued by fire brigade officials. The mishap took place because the “Hotel Tarachand owner” hired “private contractual labourers” to forcefully open a manhole for cleaning, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a note.

The fire brigade, which was intimated at 4.18pm, reached the spot at 4.29pm, followed by civic and police officials. They successfully rescued Latekar, who is out of danger but under observation at Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivli. Wakode too was taken to Shatabdi Hospital but was declared brought dead

The incident occurred at Shimpoli Road near the Ambaji Dham temple in Borivali West on Thursday afternoon, when the hotel staff allegedly sent Sunil Siddharth Wakode, 35, and Ravindra Latekar, 30, to inspect a manhole as a drain nearby was overflowing. The men uncovered the manhole and entered the underground sewer line to inspect the problem but were debilitated by toxic fumes, said officials.

“Two persons were sent by a hotel owner to clean the gutter as their sewer line had choked up, even though no one can enter a public sewer without first intimating the BMC,” said Sandhya Nandedkar, assistant commissioner, R north ward. “The men inhaled a lot of toxic fumes when they entered the manhole. One person expired while the other one was rescued by the fire brigade,” she added.

The fire brigade, which was intimated at 4.18pm, reached the spot at 4.29pm, followed by civic and police officials. They successfully rescued Latekar, who is out of danger but under observation at Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivli. Wakode too was taken to Shatabdi Hospital but was declared brought dead.

“We are in the process of registering an FIR against the hotel staff under section 106 (causing death due to negligence) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita,” said deputy commissioner of the police Anand Bhoite. “We are checking the CCTV footage of the incident to ascertain the sequence of events and will inquire with the hotel staff to identify who sent the two men inside,” said another police officer.