BMC will further tighten supervision to ensure no manhole left uncovered in Mumbai: Municipal commissioner

Mumbai: The BMC will further strengthen monitoring to ensure that no manhole is left uncovered, municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide said on Tuesday. She added that the BMC maintains more than one lakh manholes across the city, with the sewerage operations department alone managing nearly 80,000.On July 2, a 55-year-old daily wage labourer, Aslam Shaikh, died after falling into an open sewage manhole where work of fitting a protective net was underway on Sakinaka’s Khairani Road.Civic records show that 96,383 of the over one lakh manholes linked with stormwater drain and sewerage networks have already been fitted with protective safety nets. Around 1,800 manholes had been buried during previous road works and 4,446 had been reopened for infrastructure projects.

As these works are completed, the BMC has been reinstalling covers and protective safety nets.Bhide stressed the need for “micro-level discipline” and continuous monitoring to prevent any untoward incidents. While systems are already in place to ensure manholes remain covered, Bhide said, the BMC would further tighten supervision and accountability to eliminate lapses. She added that ensuring no manhole is left open is one of the top priorities of the civic administration.The Bombay high court has repeatedly sought details from the BMC on the measures being taken to secure manholes across the city.