Mumbai: 80 per cent manholes covered with safety nets

The deadline for installing safety nets on manholes ends on Friday According to the high courtrsquos 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 weekThis 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 manholesManhole open near RNA Corporate Park in Bandra in 2017Dr Ashwini Joshi additional commissioner of the BMC said ldquoOver 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 electionsrdquoShe added that the work has been implemented at the ward levels ldquoThe wards with a lesser number of manholes have been completed while those with a higher number of manholes will take some timerdquoUnprotected manholes pose serious threat during monsoon File picRane AshishA ward official from the western suburb told midday that the work in his ward would be completed by Friday night and there werenrsquot any big issues in installing the safety netsThe 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 hasnrsquot 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 yearThe tenders were initially floated at ward levels for only sewer line manholes But as per the high courtrsquos 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 cityAlthough 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 installationThe 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 8000 but prices range from Rs 4000 to Rs 22000 based on the size shape and location of the manholes The total cost is expected to be approximately Rs 90 croreInitially 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 lakhRs 90croreEstimated cost of covering all manholesTotal manholes and drainsSewer lines74693Storm water drain22593