Man falls into open manhole in Saki Naka as heavy rain lashes Mumbai, rescue operation on

3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jul 2, 2026 04:01 PM IST

Spot picture of the manhole. Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee.

A man died after falling into an open manhole in Mumbai‘s Saki Naka area on Thursday afternoon as heavy rain continued to batter the city. Rescue teams were rushed to the spot and an operation was underway till late evening.

While the body of the person was rescued, doctors at Mumbai’s Rajawadi hospital later declared him dead.

The incident comes barely a week after a civic official accompanying Mayor Ritu Tawde during an inspection of waterlogged areas at Gandhi Market fell into an open manhole hidden beneath rainwater. The official was pulled out within minutes, but the episode raised fresh questions over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s monsoon preparedness.

Open manholes have remained a recurring hazard during Mumbai’s monsoon. Flooded roads often make them impossible to spot, turning them into a serious risk for pedestrians and motorists.

The issue has repeatedly come before the Bombay High Court. Hearing a petition in 2022, the court described open manholes as “death traps” and warned that civic officials could be held personally responsible if anyone died after falling into one. It also asked the BMC to come up with permanent solutions, including protective grills and technology to immediately detect missing or tampered manhole covers.

The court later questioned why only a small percentage of the city’s manholes had been fitted with protective grills. Following the court’s directions, the BMC said it had covered nearly 99 per cent of manholes with protective grills over the past year.

According to civic data, Mumbai has more than one lakh manhole covers, including 74,682 on sewer lines and over 25,000 on storm water drains. Missing covers have been a persistent problem. BMC records show that 791 manhole covers were stolen in 2023, while another 220 thefts were reported between January and June 2024.

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The dangers posed by uncovered manholes came into sharp focus after the death of gastroenterologist Dr Deepak Amrapurkar, who was swept into an open manhole during heavy rain in 2017. The incident prompted a series of directions from the High Court to improve safeguards around open drains and manholes across the city.

With heavy rain continuing across Mumbai, Thursday’s incident is likely to renew scrutiny of the civic body’s claims that vulnerable manholes have been secured ahead of the monsoon.

Pratip Acharya is a seasoned journalist based in Mumbai reporting for The Indian Express. With a career spanning over a decade, his work demonstrates strong Expertise and Authority in critical urban issues, civic affairs, and electoral politics across Eastern and Western India.

Expertise & Authority

Current Role: Journalist, The Indian Express (IE), reporting from Mumbai.

Core Authority: Pratip's reporting focuses sharply on local democracy and development, specializing in:

Urban Governance and Civic Affairs: Providing in-depth analysis of municipal decision-making, city planning, and local infrastructure, essential for informed urban reporting.

City Politics and Environment: Covering the political dynamics of Mumbai and surrounding areas, alongside critical environmental challenges impacting the metro region.

Electoral Coverage (High-Stakes Experience): He has extensive experience in high-stakes political reporting, having covered major elections, establishing his Trustworthiness in political analysis:

National: Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019.

State: West Bengal Assembly elections in 2016 and Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2019.

Major Assignments (Ground Reporting): Pratip demonstrated commitment during crises by conducting ground reporting throughout the Covid-19 pandemic since its breakout in 2020, offering first-hand accounts and analysis of the public health crisis.

Experience

Extensive Experience: Starting his career in 2014, Pratip has built his foundation across multiple prominent English dailies:

Started at The Times of India in Kolkata (2014).

Relocated to Mumbai (2016) and worked with The Free Press Journal and Hindustan Times before joining The Indian Express.

Pratip Acharya's diverse experience across major publications, coupled with his specialized focus on the intricate details of urban governance and a track record of covering major electoral and health crises, establishes him as a trusted and authoritative source for news from India's critical metropolitan centres. ... Read More

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