Himanta Sarma Orders Satellite Mapping Of Open Drains After 3-Year-Old's Death

In a significant move, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has instructed the state's Chief Secretary to employ satellite imagery to identify open drains across urban areas throughout the state.

The directive comes following the death of a three-year-old boy who fell into an open drain near Vivekananda School in Guwahati's Kalapahar area.

The incident occurred on Wednesday around 3 pm, when the three-year-old was playing near an under-construction site. 

Locals discovered him three hours later, after which he was taken to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where doctors declared him dead.

The Fatasil Ambari Police in Guwahati on Thursday arrested three persons in connection with the death of Sumit Sahu at Kalapahar on Wednesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), addressing the press, said, "The child's father had filed a complaint holding BIPL (Bhartia Infra Projects Ltd), responsible. The work was being carried out by BIPL under the supervision of the PWD. We started an investigation and, after close examination, held three persons accountable. The arrests included Managing Director Avinash Bhartia, Safety Engineer Kaushik Gogoi, and Deputy Project Manager Prasanjit Pathak. More arrests may take place in the future as further investigation is ongoing."

Chief Minister Sarma has stressed the urgent need for stricter oversight of construction sites and urged authorities to implement preventive measures to avoid future tragedies, according to officials. 

Last year, in a similar incident, an 8-year-old boy named Avinash Sarkar was washed away in Guwahati flash floods on July 4, after falling into a drain from his father's scooter during heavy rain.

Despite intensive search operations by the police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the boy's body was recovered on July 7.