00:02This is news coming in from Mumbai where an elderly man fell into an open manhole.
00:07This miss had that happen in Mumbai where a man fell into an open water drainage.
00:13Now search operations that are underway for the elderly man.
00:16Today within the jurisdiction of Sakinaka police station that is Andheri East where
00:21repair work was underway for the water drainage and the grill was being carried out on Kherani
00:29Road. During the course of the work that was underway a pedestrian whose name was Aslam
00:34Isak Sheikh, 60 years of age, a resident of Yadavnagar Sakinaka who accidentally fell into
00:40this water drainage through an open manhole. The fire brigade was immediately called and
00:45search and rescue operations are currently underway. This is the news that is just coming in.
00:50Why this is concerning? Because this is not the first time that such details of people
00:56falling in manhole. That too during the rainy season in Mumbai where time and again the BMC
01:02has promised for taking action and ensuring that these incidents can be prevented. But here again
01:08another incident that has been reported. Taking this to Mustafa Sheikh, my colleague who's tracking
01:13all the developments on this story. Mustafa, with regards to this elderly man who fell into the water
01:19drainage and why was it open in the first place? We understand that a lot of these low-lying areas
01:24are flooded but aren't the teams also working down the clock to ensure that such accidents don't happen?
01:31Well, yes. One of the issues which the BMC has also accepted is that the contractor is at fault who
01:38kept this manhole open.
01:40Aslam Sheikh was passing through that road, his cell around 11.45am. The update which is coming in is that
01:47his body has been removed from the manhole.
01:52He has taken to hospital and it's more likely that he has not survived this incident so that his hospital
01:58has to be declared. But it took two to three hours for the rescue to happen because it was a
02:03narrow manhole.
02:04So, the rain-related incidents which are rising in Mumbai are really creating a question on what management and preventive
02:12measures the BMC has taken.
02:13With this heavy rainfall, people, there are streets falling on people, if they are walking on, they are falling in
02:18manhole.
02:19These are things which the Mumbai guys are facing in the intense rainfall which has happened in the past few
02:25days.
02:25And the BMC is, as of now, blaming the contractor who kept the manhole open. But the detailed inquiry will
02:32give out more results later back to you.
02:35All right, Mustafa, many thanks for getting us those details.
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