Mumbai: 3-yr-old falls into open drain, dies

Around 1.30 pm, Tamboli was playing on the M J Road, Cheetah Camp, near Malik Jewellers in Chembur (E) when it was raining.

Days before the monsoon hits the city, an open stormwater drain (nullah) claimed the life of a three-year-old boy, who drowned after falling into an open drain in Cheetah Camp area at Chembur on Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased, identified as Adihan Parvez Tamboli, fell into the nullah at around 1.30 pm. He was rushed to the nearby Shatabdi hospital where he was declared brought dead.

The Trombay police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and are investigating the case. Trombay senior police inspector S Gaonkar said that around 1.30 pm, Tamboli was playing on the M J Road, Cheetah Camp, near Malik Jewellers in Chembur (E) when it was raining. “It started raining heavily over there. Tamboli fell into the drain that was left open by contractors who were cleaning the nullah as part of the monsoon preparedness.

The deceased, identified as Adihan Parvez Tamboli, fell into the nullah at around 1.30 pm.

Soon, local residents tried to rescue the boy. By the time they managed to pull him out and take him to the Shatabi hospital he was declared dead,” Gaonkar said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 6) Shahaji Umap said, “We are investigating the matter and if someone is found guilty we will register an FIR in the matter.”

Local residents said that Tamboli hailed from Beed. “His father Parvez is an engineer. His mother is pregnant and had gone to stay with her parents in Trombay when the incident took place. Parvez was informed about the incident and has left from Beed,” a local resident said.

Feroz Khan, another local resident, said, “Earlier the drain was open from both sides so even if someone fell inside, the person could come from the other side. However recently the drain was shut from one side. Tamboli was playing with kids there when he fell in the drain. He was new to the place as he resided with his parents in Beed.”
He added, “It took us nearly an hour to break the drain cover and pull the kid outside. The drainage work was being done in such a bad way that when we went inside to rescue the kid, there was a lot of garbage. Eventually we rescued the kid but it was too late by then.”

During the August 29 deluge last year, Dr Deepak Amrapurkar had died after falling into a open manhole during the monsoon that had led to widespread outrage. When contacted, Shrikant Kawale, chief engineer, stormwater drains department, said, “Officials from our department visited the spot where the incident happened. It was a small drain being managed at the ward level. We are yet to receive a report on the incident.” Kawale refrained from commenting any further saying he can comment only after he receives the report.

Shahnawaz Shaikh, AIMIM corporator from Cheetah Camp area, held the BMC’s stormwater drain department responsible for the tragedy. “We had already submitted a complaint to civic officials, including deputy municipal commissioner Bharat Marathe, about shoddy work and bad conditions of nullah in the area. We had even requested the stormwater drain department officials to conduct an inspection of nullahs in the area before the monsoon. However no action was taken on the issue. The cover of the nullah opened due to water gushing out of the drain during the rains on Monday, local residents informed me. We have now demanded action against those responsible for the negligence within next 24 hours,” said Shaikh.

Assistant municipal commissioner of M east ward (Govandi, Chembur) Srinivas Kilje could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.