Cost forces BMC to rethink ‘smart manhole’ project

HC, in 2018, had asked the BMC to install protective grills on all manholes. File pic

The BMC is rethinking its decision to install smart manhole covers across the city as these would work out to be very costly. The civic body will now have to come up with a cheaper solution to ensure manholes in the city are covered. The decision was taken during a high-level meeting of BMC engineers at the civic headquarters on Friday, chaired by Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu.

To prevent mishaps like people falling into uncovered manholes, the BMC has currently installed iron grills under the covers of 5,000 manholes so far, in areas that are prone to flooding. The civic body will also start the smart manhole project on a pilot basis, with ‘smart covers' installed at 14 locations. "If a person tries to lift the manhole cover, an alarm will sound at the spot as well as the control room located at Babula Tank near Byculla," said a civic official, adding that the cost of each smart cover is around Rs 1 lakh.

According to the official, there are around 1 lakh manholes across the city. As a result, the smart manhole concept would work out to be very expensive. "We will find a cheaper solution," the official said. The iron grills being installed under the manhole covers cost around Rs 10,000.

During the meeting, AMC P Velrasu appointed a committee under Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ullas Mahale to come up with a solution within 15 days.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday expressed displeasure over non-compliance with its 2018 order, wherein the BMC was asked to install protective grills on all manholes.

"An action plan will be prepared for installing protective meshes on all manholes to avoid accidents during the monsoon. BMC engineers will develop a prototype in the next fifteen days," AMC P Velrasu said.