Patna, Aug. 14: A three-year-old girl lost her life after she slipped into an open manhole in Lohanipur area, triggering posers on the basic amenities in the state capital while the country gets ready to celebrate its 64th Independence Day.
Aarti Kumari, the victim, fell into the open manhole on Pustkalaya Lane at 8.30 this morning. Sources said she died before any attempt could be made to rescue her.
The accident could have been avoided had the civic authorities been alert about the hazard of open manholes in the city. This is not the first incident of its kind in recent times. On May 21, a five-year-old boy, Roshan Kumar, lost his life after he fell into an uncovered manhole on Bhoothnath Road under Agamkuan police station. Mayor Afzal Imam and Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials had promised to cover all open manholes in the city before the advent of monsoon. Nothing, however, was done. The mayor told The Telegraph later that the state government had refused to release funds for covering manhole.
“Aarti’s father Karu Ram is a rickshaw puller. The area in which they live has two uncovered manholes. The girl stepped out of her house to play this morning and fell into one of them. She died instantly, before anyone could help her,” said a neighbour of Karu.
Soon after the incident, the residents of the area staged a protest against the apathy of the civic body. The district administration and police officers rushed to the spot to pacify them. The family of the deceased was given Rs 11,000 as compensation.
“What will I do with the money?” said Ram. “Can it bring back my daughter? Why didn’t the administration take steps to cover these manholes? Why have they been idle for so long?” asked Karu.
The questions asked by the grieving father is what most of the residents of the city want to know.
“This is a very serious incident, which could have been easily avoided. A letter has been sent to the PMC. From now, the responsibility of all such incidents will be on the civic body,” Patna city superintendent of police (central) Shivdeep Lande told The Telegraph.
He added: “If such an accident occurs again, we will lodge an FIR under Section 304(A) of the Indian Penal Code — that deals with causing death by negligence — against the PMC official of the area.”
The incident today revealed once again the ugly tussle between the PMC commissioner and the elected councillors. While the deputy mayor tried to pin the blame on the commissioner, senior officers of the civic body were busy trying to pass the buck.
Deputy mayor Vinay Kumar Pappu said: “PMC has got the funds necessary to cover all the manholes. But the PMC commissioner Divesh Sehara is completely lackadaisical about it. We have been asking for his removal for long but the state government does not seem to be interested. The commissioner should be booked for murder in this case. We will raise this issue in the standing committee meeting of the PMC.”
He added that the civic body had nearly Rs 20 lakh at its disposal to cover the death traps.
Sehara was unavailable for comment but a senior officer of the PMC said: “This is a very serious incident. But all the allegations against the commissioner are absolutely wrong. The PMC ordered the chief sanitary officer to ensure that all the manholes are covered before the advent of monsoon. Executive officers responsible for the execution of the project sent a report to the civic body claiming that the work had been done. This incident, however, proves the contrary. The executing officers and the chief sanitation officer are responsible. The PMC will probe the matter immediately.”
Gaya deaths
Four girls aged between eight and 10 drowned as they were taking a bath in a pit at Khisersarai block of Gaya district today. The deceased have been identified as Pooja Kumari, Sushila Kumari, Tiranti Kumari and Khushboo. The 10-foot-deep pit was filled to the brim because of shower. The girls were taking bath when the incident occurred.
