Man falls into open manhole in Pune, suffers injuries

Man suffers injuries on legs, hands and trunk after falling into a 10-foot-deep uncovered manhole at Prabhatnagar in Pimple Gurav in Pune

Pune: Ramesh Koli, 22, suffered injuries on legs, hands and trunk after falling into a 10-foot-deep uncovered manhole at Prabhatnagar in Pimple Gurav.

Residents of Prabhat nagar in Pune remove the bike of Ramesh Koli, the man who fell into the uncovered manhole and suffer injuries, on Monday. (HT)

The bike-borne labourer had a lucky escape as he did not get hurt by uncovered iron rods after falling into the hole, according to bystanders who rescued him.

“I am a daily wage worker and was going to the labour pick-up point (Majur aada) on Bhagat Singh road when the incident happened. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) is carrying out road repairs but has not put any signs near uncovered chambers. The accident has left me without work for five days as doctors have advised bed rest. There are a couple of more chambers which are open with no barricades,” said Koli.

The nearby residents rescued Koli after hearing a loud noise as the bike fell into the uncovered chamber.

Former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) corporator Rajendra Jagtap, who visited the spot after the incident, said, “It is fortunate that Koli did not suffer any major injury. The civic body should take immediate steps and accept the responsibility.”

Residents claim that the road repairs in Pimple Gurav under the smart area-based development project is going at a snail’s speed.

“Pedestrians are daily facing inconvenience due to incomplete road words,” said resident Nitin Kadam.

Vijay Bhojane, PCMC additional city engineer, said, “We have ordered the contractor to take extra precautionary measures to prevent such incidents. Almost 80% of ongoing road works in Pimple Gurav is carried out and the rest will be completed by December. Repairs on some narrow roads is taking time because of traffic.”