Nagpur: While Mumbai’s civic administration suspended four officials within 24 hours of a fatal civic lapse, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is yet to fix responsibility or initiate action against any official or contractor more than 48 hours after a 60-year-old woman was electrocuted in a rainwater puddle allegedly charged by a damaged underground streetlight cable.The stark contrast has once again placed NMC’s response to fatal civic failures under the scanner.On July 2, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) suspended four officials pending an inquiry after a 60-year-old man was swept into an open manhole and died during drain maintenance work in Sakinaka. In Nagpur, despite allegations that an underground streetlight cable was damaged during civic works and left in a hazardous condition, neither the contractor nor any civic official responsible for supervising the work has faced action.NMC chief engineer Leena Upadhey told TOI that the civic body has ordered an inquiry and appointed an electrical inspector from the state’s Public Works Department to determine the cause of the electrocution. “Further action will be initiated after the inquiry report is received,” she said.However, the decision to await the probe before fixing responsibility has raised questions over the Public Health Engineering Department’s oversight of infrastructure projects executed by private contractors. It remains unclear whether officials inspected the restoration work, verified the safety of underground electrical infrastructure or ensured the site was safe before reopening it to the public.The latest death also exposes a familiar pattern. In 2024, a 24-year-old man died following poor restoration of civic works, prompting the NMC to promise stringent action against contractors responsible for unsafe road reinstatement. Yet allegations of negligent restoration continue to surface, suggesting those assurances never translated into effective enforcement.With two fatalities in two years allegedly linked to botched restoration work, critics argue that inquiries without prompt accountability have become the civic body’s default response. They contend that unless officials and contractors are held personally answerable for lapses, such tragedies will continue to recur, further eroding public trust in the civic administration.
