As rains intensify, open manholes in Delhi become invisible hazards

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, July 14

As the monsoon grips the Capital, familiar scenes of waterlogged streets and overflowing sewage have returned, raising severe concerns about public safety and infrastructure resilience. The latest incident of flooding in Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur area, caused by sewage overflow, underscores the persistent issues plaguing the city.

Despite the passage of a year, little has changed. The streets get flooded after every shower, causing severe disruptions and posing significant risks to residents. The flooding not only hampers daily life but also brings the peril of uncovered manholes, which become invisible hazards beneath the waterlogged streets.

The monsoon’s heavy rainfall exacerbates the dangers associated with these manholes and potholes. Flooded streets significantly increase the risk of accidents for both vehicles and pedestrians, as rising water levels conceal open pits and manholes. Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveal a grim reality: at least one person dies every 12 hours due to open pits and manholes. Since 2015, a staggering 5,393 such deaths have been recorded, with 841 in 2020 alone. These deaths are categorised as “accidental deaths” when individuals accidentally fall into these open hazards.

One of the most harrowing cases is that of Dr Deepak Amrapurkar, a 59-year-old gastroenterologist who fell into an open manhole during heavy rains in Mumbai in 2017. His death highlighted the severe risks posed by such neglected infrastructure. Similarly, in Mumbai last year, two contractual workers from the BMC’s stormwater department died after falling into a manhole while conducting post-flooding cleanup operations.

Even in the absence of flooding, open manholes remain deadly. In Gurugram, a two-year-old child died after falling into an open manhole in Sector 37, prompting accusations of negligence against the authorities.

Heavy rains in Delhi have already claimed 11 lives this season. Among the victims are two children, both around nine years old, who drowned in a waterlogged underpass in north Delhi’s Samaypur Badli area last month. Additionally, three labourers — Santosh Yadav (19), Santosh (19) and Daya Ram (45) — were trapped in mud slush caused by heavy rains at an under-construction site in Vasant Vihar. An officer explained, “It was an under-construction site in Vasant Vihar where some labourers were sleeping, and the ground caved in due to heavy rainfall.”