Only days after HC rap, man dies after falling into open Saki Naka manhole

As the irony lingered, the BMC scrambled to contain the fallout, suspending four officials, including the assistant municipal commissioner who heads ‘L’ ward, where the accident took place. The municipal commissioner has also ordered an inquiry into the incident

MUMBAI: Saki Naka resident Aslam Esaf Shaikh, 55, died after falling into an open sewer minutes after he left home for work on Thursday afternoon. The mouth of the sewer on Khairani Road was left open by civic contract workers who were installing protective grilles under manhole lids in the area. This manhole, in particular, was not barricaded when Shaikh fell in.

Mumbai, India. July 02, 2026 - File Photo of Aslam Shaikh. Aslam Shaikh, a 55-year-old Sakinaka resident, died after falling into an open manhole during maintenance work on Khairani Road, Sakinaka, Mumbai. India. July 2, 2026. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

As the irony lingered, the BMC scrambled to contain the fallout, suspending four officials, including the assistant municipal commissioner who heads ‘L’ ward, where the accident took place. The municipal commissioner has also ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Akbar Shaikh said his older brother, who loaded material into trucks on Khairani Road, was heading to work when he fell into the sewer. “My family is devastated,” said Akbar Shaikh.

Aslam Shaikh paid with his life for civic negligence, a scenario the Bombay High Court sought to address on Monday. While hearing a PIL, the court had instructed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to make sure “no human life should be lost due to manholes” this monsoon. “The city cannot continue to suffer; it needs to end,” the court said, while seeking an assurance from the BMC that open manholes would claim no lives during the monsoon.

Tawde instructed safety protocols to be strictly observed during manhole maintenance work but none was in place at Saki Naka on Thursday, when the civic contractor allegedly failed to take safety precautions at the site.

Local corporator Kiran Landge alleged further negligence. “Preliminary information suggests the work was being carried out without a BMC work order,” he claimed.

The fire brigade received the distress call at 12.35 pm. Ajitnath Sonavne, station officer with the Mumbai Fire Brigade, rated a rescue operation in a sewer among the “most hazardous operations” undertaken by firefighters. As he described the dangers, he inadvertently revealed the horror Shaikh likely endured in his final moments.

“Water was gushing with great force in the sewer that claimed Shaikh’s life. I could not locate him up to a depth of about 25 feet. The water level inside was around 4.5 feet,” Sonavne told HT.

“In sewage lines, rescuers risk inhaling toxic gases and oxygen deprivation. We ventilated the sewer using an exhaust blower before I entered the manhole with the help of a tripod. I was continuously fed fresh air through a breathing apparatus,” he said.

It took Sonavne around 30 minutes to retrieve Shaikh’s body. He was declared dead on arrival at Rajawadi Hospital.

Following Shaikh’s death, municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide suspended L Ward assistant municipal commissioner Dhanaji Herlekar, assistant sub-engineer (maintenance) Deepak Chougule, junior engineer Abhijeet Chougule and assistant engineer (sewerage operations) Uttam Patil pending an inquiry. Bhide has also ordered that the contractor be blacklisted for negligence.

An inquiry committee headed by the additional municipal commissioner (western suburbs) will probe the incident and submit its report within seven days. Senior officials have also been instructed to inspect manholes across the city within the next eight days and submit compliance reports.

Shaikh’s death comes despite the BMC claiming that measures had been taken ahead of the monsoon to secure all manholes across Mumbai. The commissioner and other senior civic officials had held regular review meetings since March, directing all departments to install protective grilles under manholes before the onset of the monsoon.

Tawde asked why the manhole on Khairani Road had been left open despite forecasts of heavy rain. “At the very least, safety measures should have been in place while carrying out the work,” the mayor said.