CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Thursday, September 30, 2021, directed all the collectors to ensure safety measures at borewells, tubewells, construction sites and other places where it is likely that young children might meet with fatalities for lack of awareness.
The division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray issued the direction while awarding compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for death of two children after falling into a pit filled by rainwater at an anganwadi centre on the premises of Tentulihata Primary School, Banarpal in Angul on September 7, 2012. The court expected the collectors to ensure strict compliance with guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on a PIL seeking measures for the prevention of fatal accidents involving small children.
Jambeswar Naik and Pitabas Das had filed a petition seeking compensation for death of their daughters. Advocate Prabir Kumar Das argued the case for them.While awarding the compensation, the bench said, “The death of the two children was entirely avoidable and would not have occurred if barricades had been erected around the excavated pits. A clear case is made out for grant of compensation for violation of the Constitutional right to life of the two young children resulting in their needless deaths at a very young age”.
“Keeping in view all of the above circumstances, the court directs that a sum of Rs 10,00,000 be paid to each of the petitioners for the death of their two children in the capacity as their respective fathers”, the bench said.