Open drain pit at Gangadham Chowk left without barricades or lights, 10 days after Yerawada death

A pit dug for drainage work at Gangadham Chowk in Maharshi Nagar, Pune, has been lying open for three days. There are no barricades around it, no warning board and no lighting. Residents say this raises the fear of another accident, all the more so because a 69-year-old man died ten days ago after falling into a similar pit in Yerawada.

The pit is right at the intersection, one of the busiest spots in the area. According to residents, no safety arrangements have been made since the digging began. After dark the pit cannot be seen until a person is very close to it.

Thousands of people pass through the chowk every day, including schoolchildren, elderly people and women. Local residents fear that someone could fall into the pit at night or while trying to avoid traffic.

On October 17, Pradip Pardeshi, 69, died after falling into a deep drainage pit dug by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) near the fish market in Yerawada. He is reported to have fallen into the pit after being hit by an autorickshaw, was seriously injured and died during treatment. Residents there had said that safety arrangements around that pit were also inadequate.

Residents of Gangadham Chowk say the PMC and the contractor have learnt no lesson from that accident. The work falls between Ward Nos. 20 and 21 and is being carried out by the PMC's drainage department. According to local residents, the department is not supervising the site properly.

Citizens are demanding that barricades and warning boards be put up around the pit immediately. They also want good lighting arranged at night until the work is completed and the pit is filled.

Efforts to reach Sheetal Wakade, assistant commissioner of the Bibwewadi ward office, for her response were unsuccessful.