Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday told the Bombay high court it has completed work of installing protective iron meshes over manholes in flood-prone areas across the city.
It also said that after the incident of Dr Deepak Amrapurkar’s death, the corporation has identified 1,425 manholes in the city out of which 839 manholes were in flood-prone areas and all these have been covered till today.
A division bench of Justice R.M. Sawant and Justice K.K. Sonawane was hearing a PIL filed by the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association after the death of a city-based doctor last year.
The HC said while there has been progress but the civic body should ensure that there are warning sign boards put up near manholes, opened for the work purpose.
“Some red flags or a warning post should be placed near an open manhole. The corporation should also ensure all the manholes are maintained and repaired during the pre-monsoon season,” Justice Sawant said.
The corporation should also create public awareness so that people do not open manholes on their own.
Dr Amrapurkar, a gastroenterologist at Bombay Hospital had died in August last year after he fell into an open manhole. The cover of the manhole had been illegally removed by some locals to allow the water accumulated due to heavy rains in the area to seep through.
