I Fell Into an Open Manhole During Mumbai Rains, Could’ve Died

The fact is that the manhole was uncovered and invisible to the naked human eye.

(Photo Courtesy: Tanmaya Nanda)

On Tuesday, 2 July, I got out of my house on Veera Desai road in Mumbai’s Andheri to buy some milk. It has been raining heavily since the last two days. On my way to the pharmacy, which is just 25 feet away from my house, I fell into an open manhole.

The footpath was flooded and the manhole was invisible to the naked eye under all the water-logging. I fell almost instantly, with one foot inside the manhole and the other, somehow outside. Luckily, I was able to grab the side of the open manhole and hold on to it.

Obviously, I lost my balance, and my umbrella. I quickly sort of pulled myself out and gathered myself before anybody else could reach me.

That’s was really what saved my life. Otherwise, there is no saying of what would have eventually happened and how this would have ended.

The fact is that the manhole was opened, uncovered, and invisible to the naked human eye.

There were no markers anywhere around, neither by the BMC nor by any of the shopkeepers in front of whose shops the manhole was.

It’s just so easy in Mumbai for somebody to lose their lives like this just falling into the open manhole somewhere!

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