Malabar Hill Senior’s Harrowing Fall into Gutter Spotlights Urgent Need for Infrastructure Care

Malabar Hill, Mumbai: Dina Desai, a 73-year-old resident of Malabar Hill, had an unnerving encounter with a broken gutter grate while stepping outside her car at Nana Chowk to buy medicines. A misstep caused her left leg to plunge deep into a gutter, resulting in painful bruising and swelling, but this was only the beginning of her ordeal.

“I cried out in pain, and passersby rushed to help pull me free,” Desai recalls. Although no fractures were found after medical examinations, she endured a significant Haematoma and weeks of physical struggle. The shocking incident has led her to advocate for better public infrastructure maintenance, urging citizens not to trust broken grates that could cause even worse accidents.

Despite her injury, Desai followed up with the BMC by personally visiting the ward office to ensur

e the gutter grate was repaired. BMC responded by welding an additional strip to prevent further mishaps, acknowledging that the incident was extremely rare.

Desai, though still recoveri

ng, is determined to make sure that others avoid a similar fate, highlighting the importance of proactive reporting and repair of public infrastructure.