Capital pain: Woman, son die in open drain

Samad Hoque
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 1
As many as 11 people, including two children, died and three were injured in rain-related incidents in Delhi-NCR during Wednesday evening’s intense rainfall.

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In a particularly tragic incident highlighting the failure of the civic authorities, a 22-year-old woman and her three-year-old son drowned in an open drain in Mayur Vihar Phase 3 on Wednesday evening. The incident took place when the victims, Tanuja Bisht and her son Priyansh, were returning from a weekly market in Ghazipur. Unable to see the overflowing, uncovered drain, they fell into it.

Six weather stations record over  100 mm  of rain in a single day

Tanuja’s husband, Govind Singh, who works in a private firm in Noida, was at work when the disaster occurred. Devastated, he expressed his frustration, stating that the tragedy could have been avoided if the rescue operation had been more efficient. “Every year, such incidents occur, but no action is taken,” he said.

Eyewitnesses reported that Tanuja clung to her child even in death. Singh added, “We called emergency services around 7.30 pm. However, when the police arrived with a rescue team, they lacked proper equipment, and the search continued for over two hours before the bodies were recovered.” The family had to transport Tanuja and Priyansh to the hospital in a private cab because no ambulance was available.
Outraged, locals pointed out that the drain had been left open for the past three months despite repeated complaints to the authorities. They argued that the negligence directly contributed to the tragedy. “They know that during the monsoon, such incidents are likely to occur. Drains shouldn’t be left open. The area was waterlogged, and she couldn’t see the open drain. The drain swept them for 50 m, and fortunately, they got stuck on the railing inside,” eyewitnesses said.
Locals claim that the administration is unresponsive. The drain overflows every monsoon, yet nothing has been done despite multiple complaints to MPs, MLAs and officials. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) stated that the drain falls under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
Recently, three Civil Services aspirants drowned in a basement of Rau’s coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar.
In response to the tragedy, AAP leaders, led by MLAs Kuldeep Kumar and Rohit Mehraulia, staged a protest at the site in Mayur Vihar Phase-3. They demanded the resignation of Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena, who oversees the DDA, holding placards with slogans like “L-G Resign” and “Take Action Against Guilty Officers”.
Kumar, the MLA from Kondli, argued that the incident was not an accident, but a result of the DDA’s failure to cover or barricade the drain despite knowing the risks posed by waterlogging. “If the drain had been closed, she would have been alive. This is not an accident; it is murder,” he said. Mehraulia, MLA from Trilokpuri, called for strict action against the DDA and compensation for the victim’s family. Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh condemned the silence of the BJP and the L-G, accusing the DDA of criminal negligence and questioning the overall integrity of BJP-led infrastructure projects across the country, citing recent failures and disasters.

Record-breaking rain

• A woman and her son died due to drowning in an open drain in Ghazipur
• Three — a 12-year-old boy, an 18-year-old boy and a 26-year-old man — died of electrocution in Bindapur, Sangam Vihar and Vasant Kunj, respectively
• A man died following roof collapse in Sabzi Mandi Area
• 3 died of electrocution in Gurugram
• Two people die in Dadri area of Greater Noida after a portion of wall collapsed
• Several cars were damaged when the boundary wall of Happy School in Daryaganj collapsed onto the vehicles parked outside, causing the road beneath to also cave in