‘Our children play here, this could happen again’

The body of 60-year-old Marriamma Tiswan Naidu who died after falling into a pit on Wednesday morning, has been taken to her native place in Tamil Nadu for the last rites.

The body of 60-year-old Marriamma Tiswan Naidu who died after falling into a pit on Wednesday morning, has been taken to her native place in Tamil Nadu for the last rites.

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According to neighbours, Naidu used to go to buy milk between 5.30 and 6 am every day.

“We don’t know when she fell into the pit. We didn’t hear any screams,” said Mohini Jain, a neighbour who lives a short distance from the pit.

Work on the merging of two gutter lines has been going on in the area for many months, and residents blame workers for not barricading the area. “Our children play in the lane all the time and something like this could happen again. They should cover it. Also, there is no light at the spot in the night and Naidu probably fell because of that,” said K Swaminathan, another neighbour.

Although the pit is not very deep, when residents found Naidu, she was badly hurt as she had fallen head first.

Naidu is survived by her husband and five children, three sons and two daughters.

“Naidu’s husband and sons have taken her body to their native place, where the daughters will join them for the last rites,” Mohini Jain added.