‘Can’t Escape By Passing The Buck…’, Says H&UD Minister On Bhubaneswar Drain Tragedy

Bhubaneswar: The drain should have been barricaded, Housing & Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said on Wednesday after visiting the spot, where a 10-year-old boy was swept away by gushing waters in an open drain during heavy rains in Bhubaneswar the previous afternoon and was later found dead.

“The BMC commissioner has been directed to conduct an inquiry into why the drain was not barricaded, when the work was sanctioned and why it was not completed, and how many such drains exist in the city and submit a report by this evening. Stern action will be taken against those responsible for this mishap within 7 days,” he told reporters.

The authorities concerned have also been directed to start the work on barricading and putting slabs on the remaining open drain within 3 days, he added.

When asked about Bhubaneswar Mayor Sulachana Das’ statement that the drain belongs to the Railways, the minister said that the authorities cannot shirk their responsibilities by passing the buck to another. “It is responsibility of the government to ensure safety of the residents. I am convinced that the mishap would not have taken place had the drain been barricaded,’ he said.

Mahapatra also met the bereaved family of the 10-year-old boy, Abubakar Saha.

The incident took at Unit 3 area, when the boy slipped into the drain and was washed away while trying to retrieve a balloon from the swelling storm water channel. He was later found near Oscar City locality under Laxmi Sagar, around 3 km from the mishap spot. He was rushed to the Capital Hospital but he had succumbed by then.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has announced Rs 4 lakh ex gratia to the next of the kin of the deceased from the State Disaster Response Fund. 

Notably, the city received around 17 mm rain in the afternoon leading to flooding of drains and arterial roads.