Mumbai: 80 per cent manholes covered with safety nets

Open manholes at BKC pose a serious threat to commuters. File pic

The deadline for installing safety nets on manholes ends on Friday. According to the high court's order, the corporation is required to install safety nets on both sewers and stormwater drains. The installation has been conducted at the ward level, with final figures expected next week.

This decision followed the tragic drowning of Dr Deepak Amrapurkar in an open stormwater drain in August 2017. Despite initial efforts, progress slowed, and by last year, the BMC had covered less than 6 per cent of manholes.

Manhole open near RNA Corporate Park in Bandra in 2017

Dr Ashwini Joshi, additional commissioner of the BMC said, "Over 80 to 85 per cent of work is already completed. All the work of installation of nets on the manholes will be completed by June 5. The delay was related to two issues. The supply was limited as there were limited players in the market to make ductile nets and the work was on slow as manpower was shifted to parliamentary elections."

She added that the work has been implemented at the ward levels. "The wards with a lesser number of manholes have been completed while those with a higher number of manholes will take some time."

Unprotected manholes pose serious threat during monsoon. File pic/Rane Ashish

A ward official from the western suburb told midday that the work in his ward would be completed by Friday night and there weren't any big issues in installing the safety nets.

The Bombay High Court directed the BMC to install protective nets on the manholes in 2018 and expressed strong displeasure in June 2023 that the civic body hasn't come up with a plan for this. The BMC had initiated the process to install the safety nets but the tender process only commenced in February this year.

The tenders were initially floated at ward levels for only sewer line manholes. But as per the high court's assertions, the BMC also extended the work to cover all the stormwater drains. As the deadline ends on Friday, May 31, BMC officials claimed they covered almost all the manholes across the city.

Although the decision to install the nets was made at least eight months ago and the SOP for selecting nets, costs, and other instructions were distributed to wards in October 2023, the tenders had not yet been issued due to technicalities related to budget allocation for the installation.

The sewer and stormwater departments have provided specifications such as dimensions, materials, and cost. The estimated cost of the tenders will vary by ward, depending on the number of manholes. On average, a net costs Rs 8,000, but prices range from Rs 4,000 to Rs 22,000 based on the size, shape, and location of the manholes. The total cost is expected to be approximately Rs 90 crore.

Initially, the BMC chose stainless steel due to its longer durability, but then tenders were issued for ductile metal nets. Additionally, the BMC experimented with installing smart manhole covers at 14 locations. However, the project was halted because each smart cover cost around R1 lakh.

Rs 90crore
Estimated cost of covering all manholes

Total manholes and drains

Sewer lines
74,693

Storm water drain
22,593