BMC To Install Smart Manhole Covers To Identify Cover Theft

In a first-of-its-kind national programme, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to put smart sensors above manholes by the end of August in an effort to identify cover theft, monitor sewage levels, and avoid accidents. The civic council has issued work orders to put sensors above manholes, which will activate if someone attempts to remove the covers, in 14 locations throughout the city in support of the pilot project.

The network of stormwater drains (SWD) and sewerage pipes that run beneath the surface of the roads in Mumbai are protected by more than one lakh manhole covers. 74,000 of these cover sewer channels.

According to civic body data, the theft of these covers has dramatically increased during the last four years. Manholes without covers are frequently the target of theft with the goal of using them as scrap, which unfortunately frequently results in fatalities. The civic organisation developed the "smart manhole" initiative to stop this.