12-yr-old boy falls into tank,stable

Sumit,a Class VII student at Government High School,Manimajra,and residing in Shastri Nagar near Shivalik Park,Manimajra,was earlier rushed to a Panchkula hospital from where he was referred to PGIMER. His condition was stated to be stable.

The incident happened around 12 noon when Sumit was flying a kite after climbing the roof of the water booster plant inside the park. He slipped and fell into the uncovered tank. The passers-by and local residents came to know about the incident when friends of Sumit raised a hue and cry.

Ashok Yadav,one of the locals who helped in rescuing the boy,said that a ladder was arranged to fish out the child which took nearly half an hour.

“The tank was uncovered and it was very difficult to notice the uncovered space while standing on the roof of the booster plant,” added Yadav.

Duty executive magistrate Inder Pal Singh along with area councillor Gurcharan Singh Kala rushed to the spot with other administration officials.

Naresh Kumar,father of the injured and an auto driver,accused the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation of negligence. “It is callousness on the part of the Municipal Corporation. The administration should take necessary action against the negligent people,” he added.

The police have lodged a daily diary report (DDR) and have begun investigations in the case.

Manimajra Station House Officer Inspector Yashpal Vinayak said contractor Kulbir Singh,who was given the contract of construction of booster plant,was not in Chandigarh and a DDR had been lodged.

When contacted,area councillor Gurcharan Dass Kala said,“I tried calling the officials of the Municipal Corporation,but they kept saying that they were busy with some function and did not visit the site.”

However,Municipal Corporation chief engineer S S Bida said “the storage tank is under construction and,therefore,it was dry”. “A piece of ply had been placed on the part where the machinery for construction was present. This was removed by the boy for flying a kite,” he added.