November 19, 2025: Maharashtra witnessed three separate safety-related incidents this week across Thane and Palghar, prompting civic authorities to reinforce calls for stronger safety measures at construction and industrial sites.
Late on Tuesday night, a portion of a large excavation pit at an under-construction building site in Thane caved in, officials said. The incident occurred around 11.30 pm at a project site of Shri Lakshmi Narayan Enterprises near Mukund Society, according to Yasin Tadvi, chief of the Disaster Management Cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation. The collapsed section measured nearly 40 feet in length and 35–40 feet in depth. While no injuries were reported, disaster management teams quickly barricaded the area to prevent public access and ensure safety. Officials said continuous monitoring of the site is underway.
In a separate incident earlier the same evening, a two-year-old boy sustained injuries after falling almost 20 feet into an open sewer chamber near Dnyanasadhana College in Thane. The child, identified as Hamdan Gufran Qureshi from Rabodi, had been visiting relatives and was walking with his mother when he lost balance and fell into the chamber. Residents rescued him before authorities arrived. He was taken to the District Government Hospital and later shifted to a private facility for further treatment. “A fall of nearly 20 feet is extremely dangerous, especially for a child this young. Fortunately, he survived. Our focus was to ensure he received immediate medical attention,” said Tadvi. Officials later confirmed that the sewer lid had remained open due to an obstructing iron pipe, which was subsequently removed to secure the chamber. “The department concerned must act swiftly and ensure that such safety lapses do not occur again,” Tadvi added.
Meanwhile, in Palghar’s Boisar area, a 34-year-old worker, Paresh Ramesh Rathod, died after an iron bar fell on his head at a steel manufacturing unit on Monday afternoon. Police have registered a case of accidental death and initiated a probe, Inspector Sunil Jadhav said.
