MUMBAI: A scooter rider had a narrow escape after he, with the two-wheeler, landed into a 6-foot-deep and 9-foot-wide manhole at Grant Road Tuesday evening. The 37-year-old mechanic, Usman Gani Wasim, was swallowed into the drain after its iron cover caved in. He was helped out by people who heard a thud and saw him slip in. He escaped with minor injury.
The manhole into which he fell is a British-era drain located at the Fute Baburao junction. Locals claimed that the man was lucky that it was not raining at the time. "Had it been so, the consequences could've been disastrous," a resident said, adding that the rider could have been sucked further into the drain.
Around 10.25 pm, the man had slowed down just as the traffic signal ahead turned red. His two-wheeler had halted on the iron cover ahead of the signal. All of a sudden, the iron cover caved in with a loud rumbling sound, taking the rider and the scooter into the open manhole.
The sound drew the attention of people who were around. The scooterist was helped out of the manhole with a ladder that was lowered into the drain. "The sound of the iron cover crashing got our attention," said a worker at a store near the spot. "Many of us rushed to help him."
The scooterist was taken to the state-run JJ Hospital, Byculla. "We've been told that he was alright," said a local. Hospital authorities told TOI on Wednesday that the scooterist did not sustain any major injury. He was administered first aid and allowed to go. They said they did not have his contact details.
RTI activist Santosh Dhaunkarsubmitted a complaint to BMC, accusing the civic body of negligence. "Photos show rods and the cover were rusted," he said. "Taxpayers' money is used for beautification, but basic amenities are ignored by BMC." On Wednesday, only two-wheelers were allowed to ply on the street while welding work on the drainage channel was going on at the junction. Attempts to contact BMC officials did not yield a reply.
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