Woman falls into BMC pit, dies

A 60-year-old woman died early Wednesday morning after falling into a pit dug by civic contractors to replace an underground storm water drain in Wadala (East).

A 60-year-old woman died early Wednesday morning after falling into a pit dug by civic contractors to replace an underground storm water drain in Wadala (East).

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Marriamma Tiswan Naidu was on her way to fetch milk at 6am when she stepped into a pile of mud, lost her footing and fell into the drain. The post mortem report said she fell head first and a lot of dirty water entered her mouth and lungs, suffocating her.

Locals pulled her out of the pit and took her to the nearby Mumbai Port Trust hospital, but she was declared dead on arrival.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has initiated an inquiry and has issued a notice to MCR Consortium, the company carrying out the pipeline repair work.

Corporator Niyaz Vanu said the woman died due to the contractor’s and the civic supervisory staff’s negligence as there were no barricades at the spot.

“The report is expected in the next 24 hours and we will take action against whoever is found guilty of negligence,” said additional municipal commissioner, Aseem Gupta.

The police have registered a case of causing death due to negligence against the contractor. Ramdas Borse, inspector, Wadala police station, said they were looking for the contractor against whom a case has been registered.