Open drains in Bangalore claim two more lives

The IT city’s pre-modern drainage system which is bursting under the weight of the monsoon has claimed the life of two children in as many days.

The IT city’s pre-modern drainage system which is bursting under the weight of the monsoon has claimed the life of two children in as many days.

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The decayed body of 8-year-old Geetha Lakshmi, who fell into an open drain near IIM-Bangalore on Monday, was found by the NDRF on Wednesday afternoon in a lake 2 kms from where she fell. As the city came to terms with the incident, news broke that another 12-year-old boy, Yashwant, had fallen into an open manhole. His body was found by his parents a few hours later.

The news of the deaths comes at a time when the city administration is already on the defensive over the deaths of two manual scavengers who died while cleaning a soak-pit – the day Mangalyaan entered Martian orbit.

The children’s deaths have finally forced the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to call a meeting on Thursday to discuss the problems of open drains and soak-pits. City in-charge minister Ramalinga Reddy said,“We need at least Rs 4,000 crore to modernize the drainage system.”