‘Drawing’ the BMC’s Attention, One Broken Manhole Cover At a Time

Mumbaikars ‘draw’ the BMC’s attention to open manholes and drains.

Residents of Kandivali have formed the citizen’s initiative called ‘Soch Sayani’ to draw BMC’s attention to open drains & manholes.

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook)

Broken manhole covers are not a rare sight in Mumbai but a bunch of Mumbaikars are now making sure that pedestrians don’t miss such death traps even when they’re in a hurry. Residents of Kandivali located in the western suburbs of the city have started doodling giant octopus and reptile artwork right around open manholes.

There are so many open drains and manholes in busy places and around schools in Kandivali. So, we decided to team up and come up with an initiative that attracts the attention of the BMC because they are the ones who are responsible for the maintenance of these manholes. The monsoons are just around the corner and these drains and manholes need to be covered before that. 

Hema Rao, Resident & Member of ‘Soch Sayani’

The team of about 12 residents first gathered on early Saturday morning and decided to draw a giant octopus on the pavement. “The thought behind drawing the octopus was that if you get trapped in the tentacles of an Octopus you can’t get out; hence we drew an 8-10 feet wide octopus in a span of 2 hoursl” said artist Rupa Basu who is also a resident in the area.

Before the broken manhole cover was highlighted (L). Residents have drawn an octopus on the manhole (R).(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Hours after the drawing was completed, the civic body rushed into action. The BMC sent workers to the area to cover the manhole. Their instant success has only amplified the confidence of the residents who have started the ‘Soch Sayani’ initiative.

The manhole was duly closed hours after an octopus was drawn on it.(Photo Courtesy: Facebook)

To keep the momentum going, they have now drawn a giant snake over a broken drainage cover, hoping they can draw the civic body’s attention again.

An open drain in Kandivali’s Thakur Village area (L). A giant snake doodle covering the still open drain (R).(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

While spotting broken manhole covers and open drains near their homes daily, the residents found themselves unable to forget the tragic death of Dr Deepak Amrapurkar last year. Dr Amrapurkar died after falling into an open manhole while walking along a flooded street during the deluge witnessed by Mumbai on 29 August 2017.

Every year, whenever there is water logging during the monsoon, this area is extremely dangerous. I have seen schools having to make their children hold hands and very carefully cross the completely flooded road just to avoid open gutters. That’s why we picked up this initiative just a month or so before the rainy season.

Alka Rathod, Resident & <ember of ‘Soch Sayani’ 

Recently, the BMC decided to cover 1,600 manholes across the city with metal nets to ensure people don’t fall inside them. But till the BMC acts on its promise, citizens’ choose to ‘draw’ the civic body into action.

Watch this space for the upcoming artwork that the team of Mumbaikars have planned for the upcoming weekend.

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