Woman suffers ligament tear after she fell into partially covered dug-up road by BMC

She suffered a ligament tear on her left leg and has been advised to take rest for at least three weeks. Following her injury, Picha moved back to her hometown in Nashik to recover. She said, “The entire patch does not have enough lighting and the barricade placed on the crossing is also placed in such a way that the hole is not completely covered and anyone can walk into it

Mumbai: A 26-year-old cinematographer, Pranjal Picha, twisted her leg after she unknowingly walked into an uncovered dug-up road in Mulund West on Saturday at 10:30pm. The hole in which Picha fell was dug-up by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for construction purposes. She alleged that the area was not well lit up and the barricade was put on top of the hole, keeping it open from both ends, which led to the accident.

Advocate Trivankumar Karnani, the founder of Mumbai North Central District Forum, a citizen welfare forum in Mumbai, said, “We have instructed the BMC in the past as well to start compensating victims of potholes and bad roads. The contractor and BMC officials are guilty of dereliction of duty. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo)

Picha, a Mulund resident, was crossing the road at the main signal of Runwal Greens, before Fortis Hospital in Mulund West.

She suffered a ligament tear on her left leg and has been advised to take rest for at least three weeks. Following her injury, Picha moved back to her hometown in Nashik to recover. She said, “The entire patch does not have enough lighting and the barricade placed on the crossing is also placed in such a way that the hole is not completely covered and anyone can walk into it.”

Picha also took to Twitter to mention the accident and questioned the civic body on the safety norms followed around the construction site. “After the pain became unbearable, I had to go to the nearby hospital for treatment.”

Additional commissioner (projects) P Velrasu said the site of the incident is the Goregaon Mulund Link Road work. “I have directed the executive engineer to fill up the pothole immediately. We have warned all site staff to take precautionary, preventive and safety measures.”

Velrasu also said a penalty will be imposed on the contractor and a memo will also be issued to them to avoid such lapses in the future.

Advocate Trivankumar Karnani, the founder of Mumbai North Central District Forum, a citizen welfare forum in Mumbai, said, “We have instructed the BMC in the past as well to start compensating victims of potholes and bad roads. The contractor and BMC officials are guilty of dereliction of duty. The BMC officials should also be booked under various Sections 166, 217, 218, 324, 409, 420, 431 & 34 of the Indian Penal Code.”

Just two weeks back, HT had reported that a 64-year-old Mulund resident suffered injuries around her eyes after falling from her scooter. The woman, Harsha Thakker, travelling from Mulund to Bhandup as a pillion rider with her daughter, fell after a four-wheeler hit their scooter from behind due to a pothole.