Open manhole leaves Kalyan man in ICU

A 49-year-old man, who fell into a 5-foot-deep open manhole in Kalyan (West) in the wee hours of Wednesday, has landed in the intensive care unit of a private hospital with severe injuries to the head.
The injured man, Dilip Londe, slipped in while checking the tyres of his truck which was bound for Pune. The truck was parked on a street near Ramabai Ambedkar ground.Londe and a few other relatives were about to leave for their village in Pune to attend the funeral of a relative.

The responsibility of maintaining streetlights lies with the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation.

"He was ensuring that there was enough air in the tyres to go the distance and did not want to take any chances," said 28-year-old Ganesh Pokharkar, a relative of Londe.

When Londe went to check the rear tryes, he fell into the open manhole. The street, said another family member, was not well lit as a streetlight had been switched off.

"Just when he had gone to check the rear tyres, we heard a loud scream. We jumped out of the truck and rushed to see what happened," said a nephew of Londe. "We were shocked to find my uncle fallen into the open manhole. There was blood trickling down his head and he seemed to be in a lot of pain."

The relatives were quick to accompany Londe to Sridevi Hospital located about a kilometre from the spot.

. "We were supposed to go for a funeral and this was the last thing that we wanted. Considering my uncle's injuries, we had to call off our plans to go to Pune to attend the funeral," said Londe's nephew.
Londe was administered first aid and had to be admitted to the intensive care.

Executive engineer of Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, Deepak Bhosle, admitted to the negligence on the part of the municipality. "We admit it's our mistake... For now, the manhole has been covered. Renovation work is on at that road and it should be over in two weeks. We can compensate Londe if he gives a written application."