E-Paper
7-yr-old boy falls into open drain in Lucknow, feared drowned
Victim’s body yet to be traced; locals express anger over LMC’s negligence, saying: “Every spell of rain brings danger because of open drains and waterlogging, but no action is taken”
LUCKNOW A seven-year-old boy was feared drowned after he slipped into an open drain while playing in the Hussainganj area of the city on Wednesday evening and got swept away by the strong current of rain water, triggering a rescue operation. The body of the victim, Veer, was yet to be recovered, said officials.
Locals expressed anger at the Lucknow Municipal Corporation’s negligence, saying: “Every spell of rain brings danger because of open drains and waterlogging, but no action is taken.”
Police and fire departments officials were the first to reach the site and launch the rescue. ACP (Hazratganj) Vikas Jaiswal, along with his team, expanded the search towards the Haider canal sewage treatment plant (STP) on the 1090 road stretch. Despite their efforts, the child could not be traced till 8pm. A senior LMC official revealed that multiple teams were searching for the child whose father, Nanha, belongs to a ragpicker’s family.
RK Rawat, fire station officer, Hazratganj said, “The child is yet to be rescued. The operation was halted due to night and will resume in daylight.”
“Around 6pm, the Hussainganj police received information that a 7-year-old child had fallen into the Haidar canal drain. The police station in-charge, along with other personnel, arrived at the scene and informed the SDRF and fire department. The search for the child is underway with the help of the SDRF and fire brigade teams,” read a Lucknow police statement.
Citing eyewitness accounts, corporator Amit Chowdhury said the heavy flow of rainwater dragged the boy along. “The child disappeared within moments as the water current was too strong,” he said.
Around 9:40 pm on Wednesday, Chowdhury said the team had yet not found the missing child. “We have arranged nets to facilitate rescue operations,” he added.
The family and relatives of the boy were present at the Haider canal site, along with the teams, to search for the victim.
When HT tried to contact zone 1 additional municipal commissioner, Lalit Kumar, he remained unavailable.
The tragedy once again highlighted LMC’s poor monsoon preparedness. On July 12 this year, a 43-year-old man fell into an uncovered drain, and it took the corporation 28 hours to trace his body. Similarly in Wazirganj, a six-year-old girl had vanished into an open drain in September last year.
When HT contacted LMC zone 1 in-charge Om Prakash, he admitted that he was unaware of the Hussainganj incident till 7pm, even as the police had confirmed it. However, he received the information later and rushed to the spot. Subsequently, mayor Sushma Kharkwal, municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar, additional municipal commissioner Arvind Kumar Rao and Zone 1 additional commissioner Lalit Kumar also reached the site to oversee the search operations.
