Thane: After 7-year-old drowns, TMC increases safety measures at artificial idol immersion ponds

THANE: The Thane corporation has stepped up safety measures at all its artificial idol immersion ponds following the death of a 7-year-old boy by drowning at an unguarded pond recently.
It may be recalled, a seven year old boy died by drowning after he went for a swim in an unguarded artificial pond at Ambeghosale lake in Rabodi area of Thane on Friday late evening, officials informed.
An official from the Thane corporation informed that the incident occurred around 8pm when the victim along with his friends, who are residents of a nearby slum settlement, had scaled the common boundary wall and entered the tank for a swim.
"The tank is nearly seven feet deep and the victim failed to gauge its depth and started drowning, following which his friends raised an alarm. Rescue teams reached the spot and by the time he could be fished out, he had lost consciousness and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead," said Avinash Sawant, chief at the regional disaster management cell, Thane.
The Rabodi police registered a case of accidental death following initial investigations informed officials.
The artificial pond was created for Ganpati idol immersions and the work of maintaining it and also providing security during the festival period is entrusted to a contractor, sources said.