Greater Noida: A six-year-old boy drowned in a 10-foot-deep water pit dug by the Greater Noida authority inside Kaladham Society residential housing in Knowledge Park -2 on Saturday evening, police officers said. A video of the spot also went viral, in which a man pointed out that there was no barricading and no basic safety measures to prevent such an incident.
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Ravi Shankar Nim, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida, said, “It is believed that the Greater Noida authority awarded a contract for a borewell to address the society’s water crisis. However, the investigation is underway to identify the nature of the work and any lapses during its execution. A case will be registered after the investigation.”
Acknowledging the lack of safety measures, an officer with the Greater Noida authority, on condition of anonymity, told HT, “The work was related to borewell and strick action will be taken against responsible person on Sunday.”
The boy left home to play with a friend on Saturday evening, when he fell into the pit located around 200-300 metres from his home, officers said. His father is a teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya, they added.
“Around 7pm, when he reached around 200 to 300 metres away from his home while playing with his friend, he accidentally slipped into a 10-foot-deep water-filled pit. His friend witnessed the incident and returned to the victim’s home to alert his family,” a police officer, requesting anonymity, said.
His family members and others rescued the child and rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival.
Police investigation revealed that the pit was dug by the Greater Noida authority inside the society premises around two days ago. Officials said they are investigating why the water-filled pit was dug inside the residential society premises. “Late Saturday night, the victim’s father submitted a complaint at Knowledge Park police station,” added the officer cited above.
