BMC assures HC: Mumbai prepared for heavy rains

Mumbai: The BMC has assured the Bombay high court of having taken several measures to prevent a repeat of the incident where Dr Deepak Amrapurkar fell into an open manhole at Prabhadevi and drowned during last year’s torrential rains.

The BMC, in an affidavit submitted on Thursday, told the court that it had installed 1,425 grills on manholes in flood-prone areas to prevent drowning. The civic body told the court that the involvement of citizens and vigilance of the police would ensure that the protective grills are not stolen.

A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhudessai was hearing a PIL filed by the Federation of Retail Traders Association through senior advocate Dr Sujay Kantawala. The BMC informed that in light of previous orders and urgency due to the onset of the monsoon, it had taken rapid action to prevent imminent disaster or fatalities due to open manholes.

Senior counsel Anil Sakhare said that the city was fully prepared to counter heavy rains and had installed high-power pumps that could discharge water from flooded areas within a short span of time.

Referring to the prayers of the petitioner, advocate Sakhare said that the BMC had installed iron grills on manholes but it was the duty of citizens and the police to ensure that the same were not stolen. However, when advocate Dr Kantawala pointed out that there were 30,000 manholes in the city and merely installing iron grills on 1,425 manholes would not be sufficient. However, advocate Sakhare replied that these manholes were in flood-prone areas and hence, iron grills had been installed on them on priority.

Advocate Sakhare further informed the court that the BMC had been on its toes to ensure that Mumbaikars did not face any problems during the rains. The civic body had developed a social media app that would warn people of flood-hit areas in the city which they should avoid.

After hearing the submissions, the court kept the matter for progress of measures on July 18.