Kandivli resident Subhajit Mukherjee got that sinking feeling, quite literally, late Sunday, April 10 evening. Mukherjee is founder of the initiative Mission Green Mumbai whose aim as the self-explanatory label says is to increase green cover in the city. Mukherjee was leaving for a Sunday evening meeting at the Aarey Colony in Goregaon. “We, from Mission Green Mumbai, do substantial plantation work at the Goregaon site, and I commute often from my home to Goregaon. That day I had received a call about some fire in the forest and I decided I needed to go and see what was going on.”

Mukherjee set off by car to the Metro station. He said, “I undertake this commute often because of my work. On Sunday evening, I went to Pahadi Eksar station in Borivli and was parking my car at a designated parking spot, it was around 7 pm. I was to take the Metro to Aarey. As I was parking, I felt a sudden lurch, heard a sound, and felt the car sink slightly. I stopped, exited cautiously and to my shock, the front wheel of my car had got stuck in a big open manhole, very close to the parking lot. This yawning cavity is not immediately visible because of the headlights and no warning signage or indicators.”