It’s been over three years since 13-year-old Aravind H. was washed away in the storm water drain adjacent to Venkateshwara slum on Mysore Road. But a look at the area shows that the safety measures undertaken at the time of the incident were temporary.
Large holes are visible in the fence around the storm water drain into which Aravind had fallen. Several children, many small enough to easily slip through these holes, play around the drain linked to Vrushabhavathi Valley.
Aravind’s elder sister Nethravathi H., who is now 21, says nothing has changed in three years. “After my brother fell in the drain, everyone came and assured us of protective measures. The fence was secured. But now, it has been cut in various places. No one bothers to repair it,” she points out.
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The fence, residents say, has been cut by locals to throw garbage into the drain. While rising water levels in the drain pose a risk, residents are worried about the smaller open drain that directly connects to the big storm water drain. There is a risk of a small child being washed away in this smaller drain, they say.
“The drain should have been covered. When we asked the contractors, they said they had been paid to only construct the drain,” claims Lakshman N., another resident.
Despite an increase in the number of such accidents, the BBMP is yet to identify such ‘vulnerable points’ along the 842-km drain network. The number of flood-prone areas may have come down, but the civic body is yet to undertake a survey to identify ‘vulnerable areas’.
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Senior officials said that identification of such points is the responsibility of ward-level engineers and inspectors. “A meeting will be held on Friday to fix responsibility,” an official said.