Day after manhole tragedy, civic bosses come out of slumber to address ‘perilous pitfalls’

LUCKNOW A day after an open manhole snuffed life out of an eight-year-old boy in Sector 7 Jankipuram, Jal Sansthan authorities came out of their slumber to address concerns over the ‘perilous pitfalls’ in the city. Over 100 uncapped manholes were covered by civic teams in all eight zones of the city on Wednesday and the work of capping ‘death traps’ and repairs of broken manholes will continue over the next three days.
After instructions from municipal commissioner Inderjeet Singh in this regard, Jal Sansthan will now conduct daily inspections across all zones, focusing on broken/open manholes along sewer lines. The municipal commissioner ordered immediate covering or repair of any hazardous manhole, with a certificate of compliance due within three days.
Supervisors, junior engineers and executive engineers have been directed to maintain detailed registers of inspection and take immediate corrective action. Jal Sansthan GM and other departmental heads will be held responsible for any future incidents involving uncovered manholes, said Singh.
Officials have also been asked to address safety issues related to open junction boxes on street lighting poles. They have seven days to ensure that all junction boxes are properly covered and taped. In case of any accident due to electric current from streetlights, the responsibility will fall on engineers concerned and the executing agency, EESL.
An eight-year-old boy had died on Tuesday after falling into an open manhole, a few hundred metres from his house near the Abdul Kalam Technical University in Sector 7 of Jankipuram area. The tragic incident took place around 1.30pm when the child, Shahrukh Khan, slipped into the manhole while walking towards a ‘bhandara’ in the area along with his two sisters. A few passersby heard the screams of the girls and alerted cops, said police.
An FIR was registered at the Jankipuram police station against a private agency – Ms SK Singh Enterprises – tasked with sewer maintenance in the area and its supervisor, Ankit Kumar, under IPC Section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence). The complaint was lodged by Manoj Kumar Shukla, executive engineer (zone 3) of LMC’s water works department.
The private agency has been blacklisted by the LMC while disciplinary action is being taken against key officials. These include supervisor Achhe Lal, junior engineer Gaya Prasad Singh, and executive engineer Manoj Shukla who are suspended. Their negligence has been cited as a contributing factor in the accident, said officials.
“As part of safety measures, Jal Sansthan has already repaired/replaced around 100 manholes in the municipal corporation area. This effort will continue daily, aiming to ensure that no further accidents occur due to departmental negligence,” said municipal commissioner Inderjeet Singh.