One-yr-old falls into open sewer, dies

The negligence of the civic authority claimed the life of another child on Tuesday when a one-year-old girl, named Aarushi, died after she fell into an open sewer outside her house, HT reports.

The negligence of the civic authority claimed the life of another child on Tuesday when a one-year-old girl, named Aarushi, died after she fell into an open sewer outside her house. The incident took place in east Delhi’s Ghazipur area around 10am on Tuesday.

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“A sewer runs right in front of their house but it was covered. The girl’s family members have alleged that the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) was cleaning the drain and had removed the slab. EDMC workers, however, did not place the cover back,” said a senior police officer.

Aarushi’s family lives in Rajveer Colony of Kondli and the girl’s father Ajay Kumar works in a factory.

“This is not the first time that the authority cleaned the drain and forgot to place back a sewer’s cover. We have complained about this negligence several times, but the workers never listen to us,” said Daanveer, the victim’s uncle.

“Aarushi could not understand the fact that the sewer had been left uncovered. She started screaming as soon as she fell. Her elder brother jumped into the sewer immediately and took her out,” he added.

But by then it was too late. The doctors declared her brought dead when she was rushed to the hospital. The girl was going to celebrate her second birthday next week.

The hospital informed the police, following which a team later visited the family. “We have taken the statement of all the concerned persons and eyewitnesses. A case of causing death due to negligence has been registered against unknown persons. The responsibility for the incident will be fixed after proper investigation,” the officer added.

“A drain had been dug up by the corporation outside the house where the girl fell. It is the job of the workers to barricade the area but they failed to do so. It is a sad incident,” said East Corporation standing committee chairman Mahek Singh.