Mumbai: Drain had no cover for past four years, says local resident

The owner of the CCTV camera that captured the fall of 3-year-old Divyansh into an uncovered drain in Malad on Wednesday night said the pit has remained poorly maintained for the past four years.

Jafru Rehman, 46, is a local resident and owns four godowns near Ambedkar Chowk. Rehman, who runs a scraps business, had installed the CCTV camera a year ago for the safety of his godowns following a rise in thefts in the area.

"The gutter cover broke four years ago after heavy rains and water-logging. But nobody repaired it. Many residents suffered injuries because of this open gutter. For others' safety, we would always place small logs on it, but due to heavy rains dislodged them," Rehman told DNA.

The Dindoshi police which have collected the CCTV footage said that they were going through the video data for past one month to ascertain who kept it open. The BMC has said it was not open for very long.

The civic body on Thursday tweeted: "Early inquiry reports have revealed that cover of the drain was removed by certain individuals. CCTV footage is being checked and investigated to trace the concerned people."

As per figures provided under RTI by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the city has witnessed 356 deaths due to drowning in the last six years.

These include drowning in sea, nullahs, river, well, creek, trenches and open manholes.

Death due to drowning also accounted for nearly 35% of the total deaths registered with the BMC in the last six years. The information was provided to RTI applicant Shakeel Shaikh.