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Waste water from housing project filled trenches where three boys got drowned, says magistrate’s report
The incident took place on the evening of June 27 when three children – Abhishek (9), Altmash, (9) and Arhaan, (11), had gone near the water body.
An inquiry report by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) has found that sewage water discharge from the Bharat City housing project was allegedly routed to the trenches of Narayan Nagar village in Loni where three minors drowned in June. The SDM said the report was sent to the district magistrate along with recommendation of booking the developer.
The incident took place on the evening of June 27 when three children – Abhishek (9), Altmash, (9) and Arhaan, (11), had gone near the water body. When they did not return for long, a search was launched for them after which their families, the police of teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) located them and retrieved their bodies. The families of the victims had alleged that waste water discharge from the housing project had filled up the trenches, which had resulted in the drowning.
“We took up physical inspections site on July 1. It was found that pipes from the Bharat City project were illegally discharging waste water to the trenches. As a resulted, they got filled up with water and three children, while playing, slipped and died. We have also recommended and sent a complaint to the police for lodging an FIR against the officials of the developers’ firm, on July 10,” said Prashant Tiwari, SDM (Loni).
HT has a copy of the report. The project has at least 2,000 flats and is occupied at least by 900 families.
“A copy of the report has also been sent to the DM for further action. Waste water from the project was drawn out using pumps and pipes,” the SDM added.
The families of the minors, along with members of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ambavata), staged a protest at the district headquarters on Wednesday morning and demanded an inquiry.
“There has been no action against the officials of the developer’s firm even a month after the incident. The families were given compensation through the developers and were told by officials that it was a government grant. This is wrong. We demand an inquiry against the officials as well as the developer,” said Sachin Sharma, the state president of the association.
The police said the joint inspection was carried out by police officers and the SDM.
“I came to know of the inspection report on Wednesday. The recommendation for the FIR was made at Sahibabad police station. However, the jurisdiction was Loni police station. I have instructed the officials to lodge an FIR with immediate effect. On my part I have also sent a report to the DM about similar trenches/pits in Loni town which could result in similar incidents,” said Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, superintendent of police (rural).
Meanwhile, the managing director of the developer’s firm Kumar Bharat maintained that all sewage discharge from the highrise was being treated through the sewage treatment plant and the treated water was used for irrigation purposes in the highrise.
“There has been no discharge of waste water to the nearby trenches or pits. During discussions with officials, they did not hold us responsible for discharging water outside our highrise. The compensation given to the families was on directions of officials. We are not in a position to deny their directions,” he added.
