A toddler aged one-and-a-half years died after falling into an open drain in Bhandup on Sunday evening. The incident was reported at 6.30 pm on Sunday evening near Mourya Hall, situated along Bhandup West's Gaondevi road. An officer said that Krushna Gupta was playing outside his home by himself when he fell into the drain and drowned without anyone noticing at that time. An hour later when the family started looking for him, they could not find him. When they peeped into the drain, they found his body. As per information given by BMC, the major drain on Gaondevi road is largely an open drain, which locals themselves have covered at some locations for their safety. The civic body said the victim's family had allegedly encroached upon covered up portions of the drain, with only a small opening for outlet of house waste. It was through this opening that Krushna fell on Sunday evening. After the child was retrieved from the drain, he was taken to MT Agrawal hospital where he was pronounced 'brought dead'. The local Bhandup police have lodged an accidental death report in the matter. The family of the deceased have demanded that an FIR be registered against the BMC as due to repeated complaints in the past, the civic body failed to cover up the drain.
