Mumbai civic staffer dies while cleaning water pipeline

Four others were also injured at August Kranti Maidan near Nana Chowk on Saturday night

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) staffer died and four others were injured while fixing a water pipeline leakage at August Kranti Maidan near Nana Chowk on Saturday night.

The spot where BMC staff died while working. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

A senior civic official said: “The workers from the hydraulic maintenance department had to clear the water accumulated in the chamber using de-watering pumps. Two of them stepped in to check the flow of water. They fainted after inhaling poisonous gases in the chamber (which should not be the case in water tanks). The other three then went down to rescue them, but they too suffocated.”

The fire brigade was called to the spot and the men were rushed to Nair Hospital. While Rakesh Nizab, 45, was declared dead on arrival, the condition of the others – Balasaheb, 47, Umesh Pawar, 42, Suresh Pawar, 42, and Shantaram Bhakte, 47) is stable.

“While there have been multiple cases of sewage workers dying of suffocation in septic tanks, this was probably be the first death in a water chamber. The workers reached the hospital almost 30 minutes after they fainted,” he said.

Corporators blamed the authority for not taking preventive measures. Rajendra Narwankar, corporator from D ward (Nana Chowk), said, “The foul smell was either emanating from the garbage accumulated in the chamber or possible leakage from a nearby sewage line. Why is there no training for workers when they are training institutes for officials of high rank?”