Mumbai: Family of Vimal Gaikwad demands compensation after her death

Dipali Bansode, Vimal Gaikwad’s niece, at her residence in Powai, on Friday

The family of Vimal Gaikwad has said that the authorities must pay compensation, stating that the deceased's visually impaired husband is in no condition to work. "She was the pillar of our family. We lost her because the authorities were negligent," Dipali Bansode, Vimal Gaikwad's niece, told mid-day on Friday.

Gaikwad lived with her husband, Appasaheb, in a 40 to 50-square-foot room on the first floor of a relative's home at Tiwari Compound near the Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road in Powai. "She was working for a diamond company in SEEPZ. Mama is intellectually challenged and visually impaired and can't walk properly. Mami was taking care of him. The authorities should think about this man as he is helpless now," said Bansode, who lives with her family in the same house.

The Gaikwad family hails from Akkalkot in Solapur district. Appasaheb and his wife came to Mumbai around 16 years ago. When mid-day spoke to Appasaheb, he simply said, "I lost everything. I don't know how I will live now."

Appasaheb Gaikwad, husband of the deceased, at his residence on Friday

Bansode said, "Normally, Mami would return from work around 6 pm, or 9 pm if she was working overtime. That day, when heavy rains lashed the city, she did not get back at her usual time. We thought she was still at work. Around 11.30 pm we got a call from the MIDC police station. They told us she had met with an accident and was admitted to Cooper Hospital. When we reached the hospital, they told us she had died. We received her body on Thursday evening.

Civic activist Anil Galgali said, "When the BMC learnt that the divider was broken, they should have repaired it immediately. There have been many incidents where people died after falling into open drains."

Lawyer Speak

Advocate Abha Singh, meanwhile, said a case of criminal negligence could be filed against the authority managing the road at present. "It is on paper that the divider was broken," she said.

Advocate Trivankumar Karnani said, "There appears to be an orchestrated dereliction of duty by the officials concerned of the competent authorities, who were merely evading their legal obligation by playing their classic strategy of blame game."

Previous tragedies

August 29, 2018 Renowned gastroenterologist Dr Deepak Amrapurkar, 58, died after falling into an open manhole at a waterlogged spot in Prabhadevi. His body was found after two days at Worli

July 11, 2019 A three-year-boy lost his life after falling into a drain amid heavy rainfall at Ambedkar Chowk in Malad West

October 6, 2022 Shital Bhanushali, a 35-year-old woman, fell into a manhole at Asalpha village in Ghatkopar West. Her body was found at Worli