Despite the passage of time, the scars will never fade for families whose loved ones died in manhole-related accidents. Some bereaved Mumbaikars opened up to mid-day about how justice continues to elude them as well as the anguish and despair they face while waiting in vain for closure. The dangers posed by open manholes came to the forefront following the death of Dr Deepak Amrapurkar six years ago.

The gastroenterologist, who practised at Bombay Hospital, was on his way to his home in Prabhadevi when his car got stuck on a flooded road near Elphinstone Road railway station on August 29, 2017. As he was near his residence, he informed his family that he would walk back. However, he was sucked into an open manhole. His body was found in a drain in Worli two days after his disappearance. The police booked four men under Section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) but after the incident, the manhole menace continued to claim the lives of Mumbaikars. Many petitioners knocked on the doors of the court raising concerns about the safety of the pedestrians. Dr Amrapurkar’s family, which is still unable to cope with the loss, refused to speak to mid-day, saying it would bring back the painful memories.