Beware of open manholes in city, US warns its citizens

US consulate issues advisory as flooding becomes a common sight

MUMBAI: The notoriety of Mumbai’s “open manholes” seems to have reached disastrous proportions. Because it has prompted the US consulate to issue an advisory to its Mumbai-bound citizens, asking them to exercise “extreme caution” while driving or walking on Mumbai’s roads during floods.

Advisories are usually issued after natural disasters, terror attacks and epidemics.

“You should follow common sense precautions, avoiding low-lying areas that appear to be flooded,” says the advisory put up on the Consulate General of United States website on Monday.

“To ease flooding in Mumbai, the Bombay (Brihanmumbai) Municipal Corporation workers will open manhole covers on roads, and there will be no warning-markers placed around these open holes. In reduced visibility conditions, you could drive into one of these open manholes,” the advisory reads, reflecting on the monsoon preparedness of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

“You should also pay attention when walking, since sidewalks are non-existent in some areas or used for other purposes in most parts of the city. It’s possible that you could inadvertently step into an open manhole,” the advisory reads, adding that all city’s drains empty in the Arabian Sea. It also lists 13 “dangerous days” of rains.
 Turn & ‘Indian roads dangerous’,

Manhole covers are at times opened during floods as was done during the deluge on July 26, 2005.

Stating that heavy rains in the city can lead to loss of lives, the consulate has asked all its citizens to register their presence. It has also provided information of the days when the tide levels are above 4.5m as “most flooding occurs during high tide”.

The advisory also provides links to weather sites and has asked Americans to be extra-cautious if it rains heavily in the afternoon.

While the US consulate’s move clearly reflects on the monsoon preparedness of the civic body, municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak, doesn’t agree.

He said the recent floods in Wisconsin (US) after 250mm of rain and also the floods in China proved that it can happen anywhere. Defending the BMC, he claimed that manholes were never left open. “Even if they are opened to ease flooding, a warning marker (flag) is placed and the spot is manned,” he said. “In the past six or seven years, hardly 10 people have died after falling in open manholes.”

For the record, the city has 19,972 manholes.

‘Travelling by Indian road dangerous’
The US consulate also warns its citizens that “travelling by Indian roads is dangerous”. In its country-specific information section, its website reads, “Buses, patronised by hundreds of millions of Indians, are convenient but driven recklessly and without consideration for the rules of the roads. On Indian roads, might makes right, and buses and trucks epitomise this fact. Frequent use of horns or flashing of headlights is customary.”

In a democracy, everyone has the right to speak their mind. The Wisconsin episode has established that no matter how developed the economy, it floods when it rains heavily. Every drainage system has a capacity.”
—Jairaj Phatak, BMC commissioner

Any other country need not certify how Mumbai’s civic authority is functioning or how dangerous the city is. It is not only Mumbai which has seen calamities. America has been much more prone to natural calamities like floods.”
 —RR Patil, Deputy CM