Yawning manholes pose grave danger

Fatal mishaps in and around the twin-city, including the recent death of a 37-year-old painter who slipped into an open manhole in the S heetal Nagar area of Mira R o ad o n Friday, has f ailed to instil sense in the minds of the officials in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) as scores of yawning manholes continue to pose a g rave danger to the lives and limbs of citizens.

There are around 14,000 manholes in the twin-city, however, some of them are either lidless or have broken covers. Despite witnessing a number of accidental deaths involving open and br oken manholes in the twin-city, the civic administration and private contractors seem to be doing precious little to seal these yawning death traps. Meanwhile, the Mira Road police have sought details of the contractor and specifications in context to the scope of work for the day-to-day supervision and keeping track of the lids on manholes.

"We are awaiting details from the MBMC, f ollowing which necessary action will be taken against those found responsible for ne gligence," said Senior Police Inspector Sandip Kadam. An influential contractor identified as Bhavesh and an unnamed municipal of ficial have been booked under section 304 (a) of the IPC f or causing death due to negligence. ”Yes, we a re i n receipt of a letter from the police seeking clarification. While a reply will be given soon, instructions have been passed to check and rectify any lidless or broken cover manholes across the twincity,” confir med a senior municipal of ficer requesting anonymity.