Woman falls into overflowing open drain in Nabha, has a narrow escape

A 52-year-old woman had a narrow escape as she fell into an overflowing open drain at Bathindia Colony in Nabha on Wednesday night.

Madhu is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Patiala after accidentally ingesting contaminated sewage water while struggling to breathe during the incident.

The shocking episode, captured on CCTV and circulated on social media, shows Madhu falling into the drain, which was left uncovered amid the ongoing construction work. The absence of proper safety measures and the missing drain covers have raised questions about the civic body’s working.

According to Madhu’s brother-in-law, Dev Raj, the incident occurred around 8 pm on July 9, when Madhu was returning from the market with her daughter-in-law. Due to poor visibility following rain and the lack of drain covers, she failed to notice the drain and fell in. Her daughter-in-law raised an alarm, leading to people rushing to her rescue.

Madhu was taken to a hospital in Nabha, where she was referred to Patiala.

Dev Raj said that in panic, Madhu swallowed contaminated water, which included discharge from a nearby dairy.

He said, “Thankfully, she had handed over her one-year-old granddaughter to a relative minutes before the accident.”

Safety demands ignored

Residents of Bathindia Colony have long demanded safety measures, including the construction of drain covers and protective walls, but allege that their repeated pleas have fallen on deaf ears. “This could have been avoided had the civic body acted on our requests,” a local said.

Nabha Nagar Council Executive Officer Gurucharan Singh said the drain was around three feet wide and five feet deep. “The cleaning process of the drain was going on and hence the iron cover was temporarily removed. Meanwhile, the road construction work was under way, and due to low visibility, the woman couldn’t spot the open drain,” he said, adding that a notice had been issued to the road construction contractor for negligence, particularly for failing to place cautionary signage at the site.

Residents cry foul

Locals allege that the Municipal Council is trying to sweep the matter under the carpet by blaming the contractor. “This is a clear case of administrative failure. Instead of accepting responsibility, they are making the contractor a scapegoat,” said a local.

The victim’s family expressed disappointment that neither any official from the Patiala administration nor any representative from the ruling party has visited Madhu in the hospital.

When contacted, Sujata Chawla, president of the Nabha Nagar Council, said she was currently occupied and would address the matter later.