LUCKNOW: A toddler drowned in the septic tank of an under-construction building near her house in Chinhat on the eve of her second birthday on Tuesday, prompting her bereaved family to lodge a police complaint against a local builder who had left the storage chamber uncovered despite repeated requests.
Little Shivangi, the only child of Vipin Dubey, a resident of Sarita Vihar Colony near Malhaur, was playing outside her home while her doting dad was supervising a small army of sweepers he had hired to ready an outdoor venue for his daughter's birthday on Wednesday.
Around 8.30am, Vipin noticed that Shivangi was missing. Along with family members and neighbours, he began scouring the area but the toddler was nowhere to be found. Half an hour or so later, a labourer who lives in the vicinity worked on a hunch and peered into an unmanned septic tank at a construction site near the Dubey residence.
The 8ft-deep tank was filled with sand and water. The labourer used a stick to aid his search and found Shivangi, albeit unresponsive. He informed Vipin and the child was brought out, but it was too late.
"The house is being constructed by a local builder for three years now. We had asked him multiple times to cover the septic tank to avoid accidents after two animals drowned in it, but he didn't pay heed. And now, my daughter is dead because of his negligence," Vipin said.
A self-employed man, Vipin married Shikha in 2017. Shivangi was born on February 5, 2018. "She was the apple of my eye. It is an irreparable loss," said the child's grandfather Ghanshyam Dubey, a railway official.
As the tragic news spread, relatives and neighbours came out in support of the bereaved family. The builder in question, however, did not turn up to offer his condolences. He also allegedly stopped receiving phone calls from Vipin.
Little Shivangi, the only child of Vipin Dubey, a resident of Sarita Vihar Colony near Malhaur, was playing outside her home while her doting dad was supervising a small army of sweepers he had hired to ready an outdoor venue for his daughter's birthday on Wednesday.
Around 8.30am, Vipin noticed that Shivangi was missing. Along with family members and neighbours, he began scouring the area but the toddler was nowhere to be found. Half an hour or so later, a labourer who lives in the vicinity worked on a hunch and peered into an unmanned septic tank at a construction site near the Dubey residence.
The 8ft-deep tank was filled with sand and water. The labourer used a stick to aid his search and found Shivangi, albeit unresponsive. He informed Vipin and the child was brought out, but it was too late.
"The house is being constructed by a local builder for three years now. We had asked him multiple times to cover the septic tank to avoid accidents after two animals drowned in it, but he didn't pay heed. And now, my daughter is dead because of his negligence," Vipin said.
A self-employed man, Vipin married Shikha in 2017. Shivangi was born on February 5, 2018. "She was the apple of my eye. It is an irreparable loss," said the child's grandfather Ghanshyam Dubey, a railway official.
As the tragic news spread, relatives and neighbours came out in support of the bereaved family. The builder in question, however, did not turn up to offer his condolences. He also allegedly stopped receiving phone calls from Vipin.
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