New Delhi: A two-year-old girl died after falling into an open drain in north Delhi’s Mukundpur on Sunday.Family members and locals briefly blocked a road, alleging negligence on the part of authorities and demanding action against errant govt officials.The child, Asvi Kesari, had stepped out to play in front of her house around 11 am when she suddenly went missing. A search began immediately, with relatives and neighbours combing the area for hours. With no trace of the child, suspicion grew that she might have fallen into the uncovered drain that runs outside a row of houses along Mukundpur Ram Janaki Path in Ishu Vihar.It was only in the afternoon that the child was found trapped in thick sludge in the drain. She was rushed to a nearby govt hospital where doctors declared her dead.Residents alleged that the drain was left open following some work by the flood control department. “Its cover was removed three to four days ago and was never put back. This is sheer negligence,” a local said, claiming that similar accidents occurred at the same spot earlier as well, and some people were rescued on time.Vivek Singh, a neighbour and relative of Asvi, said, “The drain is at least four feet deep. Adults manage to climb out if they slip in the sludge and muck around it and fall, but for a child, it can be disastrous, especially since no one saw her fall into it.”Asvi’s father owns a small grocery shop, while her mother is a homemaker. She was their only child. Her family members were inconsolable after the accident.The death sparked anger among the locals. They called it a “glaring case of negligence” and demanded that strict action be taken against officials of the department. They claimed repeated warnings about the open drain went unheeded.Last year in Aug, an eight-year-old boy died after falling into an open drain in Delhi’s Najafgarh area while chasing a kite with his friends. In May, a three-year-old boy drowned in another open drain while playing outside his house in northeast Delhi’s Khajuri Khas.
