BMC thinking of creating smart manholes in Mumbai

A BMC official said that though the technology that they have in mind is not available in the market, the concept is being explored

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will explore the possibility of making manholes smart to prevent the theft of their covers and their contents from overflowing. A BMC official stated that though the technology officials have in mind is not available in the market, the concept is being explored.

The official, from the sewerage project department, said, "This is just a concept. We have had complaints of theft of manhole covers. During water-logging, we would see that manhole covers would go missing. A smart manhole will have a wireless indicator. When the sewage level crosses a certain limit, it will send an alert to the control room. Also if anybody attempts to lift the cover of a manhole, an alarm will start sounding on the spot as well as in the control room, which is at Babula tank near Byculla."

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The official added that a tender has been invited in this regard and that the civic body is waiting for experts to come forward to develop the concept. "We have decided to use this technology on a pilot basis at 14 places. Actually, we need to check the cost too as this kind of technology is not available," the official added.

There are around 75,000 manholes in Mumbai. But their covers often go missing, mostly due to theft. During the monsoon, people sometimes get rid to them to reduce water-logging. In 2017, gastroenterologist Deepak Amarapurkar lost his life after falling into a open manhole during the rainy season.

As per the tender document, there will be two manholes with sewage-level indicators each at Worli BDD Chawl and Jerbai Road, Parel near Tata hospital. Two manholes with thief indicators will be set up at Cross Lane and D G Mahajani Road at Sewri, among other spots at Grant Road, Worli, Parel and Dadar.