Four children in the 7-11age group drowned in an open pit in NCT of Delhi

On 6th of March 2010,right under the nose of India Capital, Four children in the 7-11age group drowned in an open pit filled with water, which is said to have accumulated from a leakage in a pipeline at Gopalpur in North Delhi. Angry locals and mourning relatives of the children who drowned, have demanded strict action against those responsible for the tragic deaths.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Delhi) Sagar Preet Hooda said: “A case of causing death due to negligence has been registered against unknown persons and investigations are under way to fix responsibility.”

The pit in which the children drowned is located in a gated complex. The police are trying to find out if anyone had been deployed for the supervision or maintenance of the complex.

Then Who is responsible?

The blame game is on its natural prosody. The Delhi Jal Board on Saturday absolved itself of any blame for the negligence that led to the death of the children. It shifted responsibility to the Irrigation and Flood Control Department of the Delhi Government.

While residents complained that the Jal Board took no action to cover the pit and fix the leakage, the water utility said the land (with the open pit) was owned by the Irrigation and Flood Control and Irrigation Department.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has announced a compensation of Rs.1 lakh each to the families of the victims.


Source: The Hindu