BMC budget 2018-19: After doctor’s death, manholes in Mumbai to be covered with safety nets

Amrapurkar died after falling into an open manhole at Elphinstone Road during the August 29 deluge.

Facing flak over the death of Dr Deepak Amrapurkar, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to cover the city’s treacherous manholes with safety nets.

Amrapurkar died after falling into an open manhole at Elphinstone Road during the August 29 deluge.(FILE)

Amrapurkar died after falling into an open manhole at Elphinstone Road during the August 29 deluge. The BMC now proposes to get 1,450 nets for manholes at critical locations, at a cost of Rs1.22 crore.

The nets will be fixed six inches below the road level. The bids for the project are being floated, said civic chief Ajoy Mehta, in his budget statement.

After the incident, the BMC had been looking at safer designs for manholes. Investigation revealed local residents had opened manhole covers in the locality to allow rainwater to flow out.

In the past too, several people died or were injured after falling into open manholes. In 2010, 11-year-old Tushar Jadhav fell into an uncovered manhole at Mariam Nagar in Worli.

According to the budget statement, the civic body has identified 146 flooding spots in the city. On priority basis, it plans to control flooding at 55 of these spots before this monsoon.

The BMC also plans to cover the Pancholia nullah, Kandivli (West) and Asha Nagar nullah, Kandivli (East) with movable shutters to prevent choking of drains.