Even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has claimed to have taken precautions not to leave manholes uncovered, at least two people alleged Tuesday that they had a near escape from drowning.
Waterlogging was reported from many areas of the city Monday and Tuesday due to heavy rains.
Tanmay Nanda, a former jouranlist, shared a video of an open manhole near Veera Desai Road.
"So I fell into this open manhole on the sidewalk on Veera Desai road (opposite Country Club) a little while ago. Managed to break fall and pull myself out. Thanks @mybmc #mumbairains #mumbaimonsoon #manhole," he tweeted.
Ashish Ghorpade, also a media professional, shared a similar story. He almost fell into an open manhole near L & T Company in Andheri (East) while on assignment, he said.
Sharing a video, Ghorpade claimed that he fell into the manhole and went neck-deep into water within a fraction of second.
"But fortunately, I came out of the manhole and my life was saved," he said.
On June 27, ahead of the monsoon, the BMC had cautioned people not to open a manhole to avoid a tragic incident such as the horrific death of Dr Deepak Amarapurkar, a well-known gastroenterologist, two years ago.
Amrapurkar (58) fell into an open manhole near Prabhadevi while walking down a flooded road on August 29, 2017. His body was found in a drain in Worli, two km away.
The BMC in a release last week said that it has taken several precautionary measures including fixing protective grills on manholes in flood-prone areas.
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