- By Akansha Pandey
- Tue, 28 Oct 2025 06:49 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In an incident attributed to the negligence of the Municipality in the Dargah area, a nine-year-old boy died after drowning in an open sewer pit (gatter) of an under-construction public toilet. Angered by the child's death, his relatives and residents of the colony protested vehemently, demanding strict action against those responsible.
The police managed to calm the child's relatives by consoling them. The child's funeral was conducted on Tuesday morning with the family's permission. As of now, no formal complaint has been filed by the child's family regarding the incident.
Details Of The Incident
Sonu resides in Dargah Colony with his wife, Preeti (also known as Sonika). He supports his family by working as a laborer. Their nine-year-old younger son, Prince, was a student in the fourth grade.
On Monday night, Prince was playing in front of his home. While playing, he wandered into the nearby under-construction public toilet complex. Due to the darkness, he fell into a nine-foot deep open sewer pit and drowned.
When the child did not return home after a considerable time, his family members began searching for him. Becoming suspicious, the family and colony residents drained the water from the sewer pit and recovered the child's body. Upon finding the body, his mother and other family members were devastated by grief; the mother fainted while weeping.
The family members held the Municipality responsible for the accident, leading to a significant uproar and renewed demands for strict action against the guilty parties. Police arrived at the scene, pacified the relatives, and facilitated the funeral proceedings the next morning.
Allegations Of Negligence
The child's relatives stated that the construction of the public toilet in the colony began two years ago. However, it was subsequently halted due to administrative reasons and has remained stalled for the past two years.
They alleged that Municipal workers showed negligence by leaving the nine-foot deep sewer pit uncovered. Dirty rainwater had collected in the pit for months. Furthermore, there was no provision for lighting within the toilet complex, which contributed to the child falling into the pit in the darkness.
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Residents stated that if the Municipality had completed the toilet construction on time, the child's life could have been saved.
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