SoBo senior citizen slips into gutter grate, follows up with BMC for repairs

A little over a month ago on December 4 2024 Dina Desai stepped out of her car at Nana Chowk to buy medicines from a pharmacy ldquoMy driver dropped me off outside the pharmacy moving ahead to find parking space I put my leg on what I took to be a grated gutter To my horror my left leg went all the way up to my thigh into the gutter grate as two spokes of this grate brokerdquo said Desai from her Malabar Hill homeDesai 73 cried out for help as her bag mobile phone scattered on the road She said ldquoI started shouting lsquohelp help mersquo as I fell and was marooned in the gutter space I could hardly comprehend what happened I had nearly blacked out from the fear and panicrdquo With her driver out of sight as he had moved ahead to find a parking space passersby heard Desairsquos cries for helpThe space through which Dina Desairsquos leg passedShe said ldquoFortunately people at Nana Chowk rushed to aid me two persons literally lifting me out from the space extricating me from the gutter My left leg was bruised it had gone in till the thigh The kind and responsive public helped me to my feet At that time I was not thinking properly due to the shock I recovered my belongings was handed my phone and actually went into the homeopathic pharmacyrdquoA shockShe said ldquoThe pain was excruciating I had some water after my fall and bought Arnica medicine to combat the painrdquo When the diminutive Desai got home there was substantial bruising and swelling on her leg and the pain seemed unbearable She added ldquoI went to my family doctor and then did an xray at Breach Candy Hospital Fortunately it did not show a break It was a large Haematomardquo A Haematoma or blood suffusion is a localised bleeding outside of the blood vessels due to either disease or trauma including injury or surgery Some Haematomas can be seen as surface bruises Desai said ldquoI have undergone a sonography colour doppler and an MRI The wound has also been aspiratedrdquoLife disruptedDesai whose life has been upended by the injury is still managing with the pain weeks after ldquoIt will still be a few weeks until I am completely healedrdquo said Desai She has had to wear shorts since then the bruising and swelling due to the injury is apparent and though mobile it is still challenging for her to move easilyThe repaired drainShe explained ldquoMy work has also been affected I am a restorer restoring precious arts and crafts works like ceramics This injury has disrupted that substantiallyrdquo said Desai as she added ldquoAs it has been quite debilitating and I find it difficult to concentrate I also had some travel scheduled shortly I do not even know if I will be able to undertake that trip I am a regular swimmer and walker that has stopped for now as I have been advised to do only upper body exercisesrdquoThe senior citizen surmised ldquoI am a petite person weighing 53 kg and two spokes broke with my weight What if a heavy person were to step on that gutter grate and all the spokes break completely What if there was a small child who slipped through that gap created by the broken spokes I want to warn the public that they should not step on these gutter grates you simply never know if they are strong enough and can take your weightrdquoFollow throughWhat is extremely heartening is that even though injured Desai decided to follow through A few days after the injury she visited the BMC lsquoDrsquo ward office at Nana Chowk to register a complaintShe recalled ldquoEven though I am a senior citizen and was walking with difficulty I was told to go to different departments to lodge a complaint I wanted to ensure that there is some action taken and the gutter grate repairedrdquoThe BMC personnel did repair the grate after that claimed Desai who added ldquoIt is key that we follow up and complain After the agonising time I have been through my healing is still on though I do not want anyone injuring themselves in a similar mannerIt is also a pointer for authorities to look at the larger picture and repair and maintain our infrastructure with care quality and consistency We also need a redressal mechanism where citizens are made aware that they can complain about dangerous or broken infrastructurerdquo signed off the still shaken but feisty DesaiBMC speaksA BMC official said ldquoThis was not a broken gutter This is a double water entrance which has an approximately 40 mm gap between two spokes If these ever break we repair them immediately Unfortunately the ladys leg went into this gap It is an extremely rare occurrence We have welded an additional strip so as to prevent any future mishaprdquo