NEW DELHI: A toddler faced the grim consequence of the city’s chronic failure to maintain its drainage systems during the monsoon. The child, who had stepped out of his home to play in Delhi’s Khera Khurd on Saturday, slipped into the neglected drain, exposing the deadly cost of civic apathy. He drowned and died in the sewer.
As rescue teams pulled the infant’s lifeless body from the sewer, the incident laid bare not just a personal loss for the family but also highlighted the city’s unpreparedness and indifference to the dangers lurking in its own backyard.
According to the police, the information was received at around 11.15 am that a child fell into a sewer on Furni Road, Khera Khurd village.
The police team rushed to the spot and called the Delhi Fire Services, DDMA, and other agencies for necessary action. Fire tenders, child helpline, and MCD staff with equipment also reached the spot, and the rescue operation was started, a senior police officer said.
It was found that a two-and-a-half-year-old child accidentally fell into the sewer while playing in heavy rain, the officer said. A joint rescue operation of different agencies and consistent assoiation of local residents led to the recovery of the child from the sewer.