Hyderabad Rains: 4-year-old falls into open overflowing manhole in NRI Colony, drowns

Hyderabad: In a tragic incident, a 4-year-old boy died after he accidentally fell into an open manhole on Tuesday morning.

The incident occurred in Pragath Nagar, NRI colony in Bachupally, Hyderabad. The boy was washed away in the canal, and his body was found near the Nizampet Rajiv Gruhakalpa area.

CCTV footage showed the boy, Mithun, following an elderly person on a road filled with rainwater. He did not realise that a manhole in his path was open and stepped into it. The open manhole was overflowing with water, due to heavy rains.

The boy’s father Santosh Reddy, who relocated from Suryapet five years ago, resides in the NRI Colony and works for a pharmaceutical company. Mithun is Santosh Reddy’s second son. The local residents are angry that although the accident occurred at 11:30 am no help arrived until the afternoon.

Hyderabad city has been witnessing heavy rains and overflowing drains for the last two days. Several colonies are flooded with rainwater. Following the heavy rains, the GHMC commissioner has requested people not to step out of their homes unless it is essential for the next few hours as the civic teams of more than 3,000 personnel are on the field to ensure waterlogged areas are cleared across the city.

Similar incidents have been reported in Hyderabad each time it rains. In May, a six-year-old boy drowned after falling in an open pit said to be filled with rainwater. In April, a 10-year-old girl fell into an open drain in Secunderabad’s Kalasiguda reportedly due to the negligence of the civic authorities.