Two dead, one critical, after falling into 15-foot-deep sewer drain
One, Suraj Kevat, 18, was declared dead on arrival. His brother, Bikas Kevat, 20, was declared dead at 10:15pm and their father, Ramlagan Kevat, 45, was in a critical condition. According to a local, Ansari Shahensha, and Mumbai Fire Brigade they were residents of Ambujwadi, which is home to a massive slum settlement
Mumbai: An 18-year-old man died after falling into a 15-foot-deep underground drain while cleaning the sewer chamber of a public toilet in Ambujwadi, Malad West on Thursday. In an attempt to save him, his brother died and his father sustained grievous injuries. The incident was reported at about 5:20pm. All three were taken out by the locals and rushed to Shatabdi hospital.
One, Suraj Kevat, 18, was declared dead on arrival. His brother, Bikas Kevat, 20, was declared dead at 10:15pm and their father, Ramlagan Kevat, 45, was in a critical condition. According to a local, Ansari Shahensha, and Mumbai Fire Brigade they were residents of Ambujwadi, which is home to a massive slum settlement.
A senior BMC official said that these workers were cleaning the sewer chamber of a public toilet when one of them fell inside. “One worker fell inside and the other two jumped in to save him. While Suraj died, the other two who jumped in were severely injured. These workers were staff of a private contractor appointed by the BMC for cleaning and maintenance of the toilet.”
The police contradicted this. When contacted Chimaji Adhav, senior police inspector of Malwani police station said that the three men had got inside the water storage tank (a private tank used by locals to store sea and rainwater for the toilet) to clean it as the BMC had given a water connection there recently. Since the tank had water stored for days, the men decided to clean it, when they slipped and fell inside it, “It seems like an accident so far. We have registered a case of accidental death and are investigating further,” said Adhav, adding that the body of the deceased has been sent for postmortem to Bhagwati hospital.
“This is a clear case of death by manual scavenging. Our team will reach the spot and get more details on this soon,” said Shubham Kothari of the Jan Haq Sangharsh Samiti.
“It’s completely shameful and unacceptable that such acts continue happening every year and the government fails to even acknowledge that manual scavenging continues unabated in the city and workers in the city continue losing their lives,” he added.