Open manholes put school Mumbai kids in peril

Open manholes on a footpath outside the Swami Vivekananda Primary School in Chembur have been putting lives of schoolchildren in danger.

“The manholes are open for the last four-five months. Children up to Class V come to the school. These manholes pose a threat to the safety of these kids,” said a student’s father, requesting anonymity.

Manholes on the other footpath are also in bad shape. “Sometimes schoolchildren are made to alight from the bus on the footpath. Besides, there are other footpaths where manholes are not covered properly,” he said.

A school official, not wishing to be named, said they have raised this matter with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). “We pursued the issue of safety of kids many times with the corporation, which did respond on a few occasions. However, whenever the civic body fixed the problem, the covers went missing,” the official said.

She added that the BMC should find some permanent solution to this problem before the onset of monsoon. “The BMC did its job whenever we complained. Since the problem continues to prevail, we will approach the officials seeking a long-term solution before the onset of monsoon,” she said.

When contacted, BMC officials said they will look into the matter. “We will immediately fix the problem. If manholes continue to remain uncovered, we will try to find other long-term solution,” assistant municipal commissioner (M-West ward) Narendra Barde assured.