A tribal student of Lakhampur Girls Ashram High School in Neredigonda mandal, Chavan Sumalatha, belonging to Waghdari village in the same mandal drowned in a water-filled trench dug for laying Mission Bhagiratha pipeline on Tuesday. The 13-year-old class VIII student had gone to answer the call of nature with five others in the open area behind the school in the morning when she accidentally fell in the trench.
Relatives of the deceased staged a rasta roko with her dead body on the NH 44 near the school, located about a kilometre from Neredigonda mandal headquarter. Traffic flow remained suspended for about two hours.
The relatives demanded ex gratia for the family of Sumalatha and punishment for all those who were negligent in discharge of duties. Joint Collector K. Krishna Reddy promised to initiate action and sanction outsourcing posts for eligible kin of the deceased besides ex gratia of ₹ 5 lakh for the family.