Day after boy’s death, no govt agency ready to take blame

Nagpur: The functioning of Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (MRIDC), South East Central Railway (SECR) and State Public Works Department (PWD) have come under the scanner after a 12-year-old boy fell into an open pit and died in east Nagpur on Thursday. All the three entities are shirking responsibility over the tragic incident.
A senior official from Kalamna police station said though it has registered the drowning of Pruthvi Dhaniram Markhande (12) at a pit near Vairagad Wadi, Durga Mata Chowk near Sai Mandir, dug up for the Itwari-Nagbhid gauge conversion project, as an accidental death, the agency entrusted with carrying out the project violated safety norms.
The pit was dug up as part of the narrow to broad gauge conversion. There were no warning signs or barricades near the pit. The incident occurred when boys had gone to the area to play.
According to the railways, the Itwari-Nagbhid gauge conversion project was entrusted to MRIDC, a joint venture of the government of Maharashtra and ministry of railways. For this purpose, the MIRDC had dug the pit. But for months, the work was incomplete over some dispute.
The MRIDC has denied any role in the incident. “It’s unfortunate that the 12-year-old boy met with a tragic end. The work for the box pushing the railway overbridge (ROB) towards the sand hump at the Howrah end was being constructed by the PWD,” said MRIDC’s chief project manager Anil Rawat.
SECR officials, too, pointed fingers towards the PWD. “We have warned the PWD about the safety and lack of precautions on several occasions. The area was dug without permission. The designs of the ROB were to be approved by the SECR headquarters but this was not done before the work started,” said officials.
TOI’s calls to superintending engineer (state PWD) Vidyadhar Sardeshmukh went unheeded.
“The preliminary probe indicated that there was gross negligence on the part of the agency carrying out the work,” said a police officer from Kalamna police station.
Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B said that NMC will initiate action against the agency for negligence. “We will first inquire how the incident happened and if the agency involved in digging the pit is found guilty then action will be initiated under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act,” he said.
NMC’s fire and emergency department, which brought out the boy’s body, has taken serious note of the incident. “The Kalamna fire station will approach NMC’s Lakadganj zone asking it to take action against the agency resposnsible for the fatal accident so that such accidents do not occur again,” said chief fire officer Rajendra Uchake.
Former corporator Pradip Pohane and east Nagpur MLA Krishna Khopde met the victim’s family on Friday. “We will ask the firm to barricade the entire dug up stretch without delay as the area is densely populated and recurrence of such incidents cannot be ruled out,” said Pohane.