Pune Mayor Manjusha Nagpure is facing criticism from opposition parties over her response to the death of a 69-year-old man who fell into a sewer line pit in Yerawada, while the Pune Municipal Corporation has blacklisted the contractor linked to the project and withdrawn its ongoing works.
The controversy began after an audio clip of Nagpure’s reply to a media query circulated on social media. In the clip, she is purportedly heard asking, “Am I a contractor? Did I push the man? Was I driving the autorickshaw?” Opposition leaders said the remarks were insensitive towards the victim and his family.
Nagpure has denied that the viral recording represented her complete response. She said the audio clip had been edited and circulated in a distorted form, and that the full context of her answer was not available in the version shared online.
The victim, Pradeep Pardeshi, fell into the pit on October 17 and died the following day. The incident has brought renewed attention to safety arrangements at civic excavation sites, where open pits and incomplete work can create risks for pedestrians and nearby residents.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar criticised the mayor’s response, calling it unbecoming of the city’s first citizen. “At a time when a family is grieving, this reflects a shocking lack of empathy,” he said.
The Pune unit of the Shiv Sena announced protests over what it described as inadequate safety arrangements at public work sites. Its city chief, Pramod Bhangire, said accountability should extend beyond the contractor to civic officials responsible for supervising the project. He also alleged irregularities in the drainage department and other public works, and linked falling quality and safety standards to the incident.
BJP city chief Dheeraj Ghate said the party had raised the matter with the PMC and urged the civic administration to enforce safety rules strictly to prevent similar incidents. Citizens have also said that administrative notices alone would not be sufficient and have demanded that criminal liability be fixed where negligence causes preventable deaths during public infrastructure work.
The PMC has started action against the contractor working on the Yerawada project, blacklisted the firm and withdrawn its ongoing works. The civic action and the mayor’s explanation are now central to the scrutiny surrounding the death and the safety controls applied at excavation sites across Pune.
