Outraged over the death of two children who drowned in dug-up pit at Shakurpur in Rohini here owing to negligence of the authorities, the Federation of Residents’ Welfare Associations in Rohini has decided to file an FIR against the civic body concerned.
Rohini RWA president M. K. Mohanty said: “We have already spoken to the Deputy Commissioner of the Rohini Zone and would be meeting the DCP on Wednesday to lodge an FIR so that action can be taken against the agency concerned.”
“This incident is a repeat of the criminal negligence of the MCD which led to the death of a man in Malviya Nagar in August this year. It is appalling that no lesson has been learnt. Despite our numerous complaints, open manholes are a perpetual problem in our locality,” he added.
“While the park in question might belong to the Delhi Development Authority, there is no point blaming it because it is the local civic body, which is the MCD in this case, that is responsible for maintenance of parks. But instead of owing up responsibility, it is busy passing the buck to the individual councillor who undertook the digging work and to the DDA,” he said.
According to Dr. Mohanty, the main problem is lack of coordination among the various agencies. Delhi RWA Joint Front general secretary Pankaj Aggarwal said: “Whoever is responsible for this should be subjected to exemplary punishment. The civic body’s duty is to improve the quality of life of the people and not subject them to dangers due to carelessness.”
A resident of Kailash Hills, Abhinav Kaul, said: “Whether it is the DDA, the MCD or the councillor, whoever undertakes the work is duty-bound to complete the digging work and cover the pit. Passing the buck is not the solution.”
Earlier in August this year, a senior citizen had died after a tragic fall into a pit dug up for erecting a streetlight pole in Malviya Nagar. The work was undertaken by a contractor on behalf of the civic body. Seventy-eight-year-old Trilok Nath Makhan, a resident of Shivalik Park, had gone for a walk in the evening when he accidentally fell into the six-foot-deep pit dug up on the central verge.
The civic body had prima facie blamed the contractor for the mishap on the ground that he had failed to undertake proper barricading on all sides, put up warning sign-boards and cover the pit with a wooden plank as per the safety protocol. The MCD had also ordered an inquiry into the matter. However, the report remained inconclusive and no action was taken, a civic body official said.
