This flower-seller from Mumbai stood for 7 hours in the rain, warning vehicles of an open manhole
Matunga resident Kanta Murti stood in the rain for seven hours to warn vehicles to steer clear of an open manhole, which she had opened to drain out the excess water from heavy rainfall in Mumbai last week.
The financial capital of India, Mumbai, is yet again inundated with incessant rain. Last week, the city received its highest rainfall in 47 years as many areas got water-logged, disrupting the lives of residents, who are already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic.
Kanta Murti (Image: ANI)
A few years ago, during a similar situation, a doctor, Deepak Amrapurkar had fallen into a manhole at Elphinstone Junction and lost his life. Some people found his body two days later near the sea in Worli.
With that haunting memory still etched in her mind, a flower hawker Kanta Murti stood next to a manhole that she had opened in Matunga on August 4 to let the excess water drain into the sewer.
“I sell flowers to make a living and support my three children’s education. My five other kids are married, and I am the only earning member in the family. My husband is handicapped after being paralysed due to a railway accident,” she told ANI.
“On August 4, due to continuous rain in the city, there was water everywhere and people were facing difficulty. Some of the vehicles were floating in the water, and things in my house also vanished. So I came to the road, and opened the sewer so that water can drain out,” she added.
She stood near the manhole for seven hours, warning vehicles to steer clear of the area. Moreover, she also lost Rs 10,000 that she had saved to fund her children’s education.
While many lauded her efforts, however, on the next day, an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) scolded her for opening the manhole cover.
“I stood there in the water for seven hours, and many people saluted me. Some gave me an umbrella, and a police official also encouraged me for the act. People called up BMC officials, but no one came. On the next day, some officials came and scolded me for opening the sewer,” she said, according to the Hindustan Times.
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Edited by Suman Singh