Mumbai: A 4-year-old boy died after falling into a pit dug for a septic tank near Hanuman temple in Govandi West around 5 pm on Monday.
According to local residents, a few children were playing near the temple on Road No 6, Plot No 40 in Govandi's Shivaji Nagar area. Arif, the 4-year-old, too went there to play. He stepped on a piece of plywood that had covered the pit. As soon as he did that the plywood broke and the boy fell into the pit. Some locals managed to get the boy out and rush him to Rajawadi Hospital. However, he was declared dead before arrival.
A resident from the locality said that the contractor has been delaying work of the toilet for more than a year. A toilet was supposed to be built a year back but due to the negligence of the civic body the contractor was delaying the work.
Mother of the boy had gone to the marketplace. When she returned and didn't find her child, she began searching for him. With the help of locals, the boy was traced to the pit.
The Shivaji Nagar police said an 8-9 feet deep pit was dug for construction of a new public toilet. The pit was filled with water. "We have registered an accident death report (ADR) in the matter and further investigation is on," said Sudharshan Paithankar, Senior Police Inspector, Shivaji Nagar police station.
"I dont know much about the issue, but we will set up an internal inquiry to know who is responsible for the incident,” said Sudhashu Dwivedi, Assistant Commissioner, M-East ward of BMC.
However, this is not the first case of negligence in the ward. Earlier in June, 2018, a three-year-old died after falling into an open stormwater drain in the same ward. The local corporator and ward officer had complained about the drain 24 hours before the incident.
