Pune Toddler Dies After Falling Into Rainwater-Filled Sewage Pit

A two-year-old boy died after he fell into a rainwater-filled sewage pit near his home in Pune, police said.

The victim, Soham Lakhan Kasbe, was playing in front of his house on Thursday morning, around 10:30, when he fell into one of the unguarded pits.

Allegations have been raised that four pits dug for sewage and rainwater drainage were left open without any safety measures.

Pune's Loni Kalbhor police have registered a case against an unidentified contractor.

The incident comes just days after Vihaan Srivastava, an 11-year-old, was killed when a tree collapsed on his school bus in Mumbai's Chembur. Of the children rescued, four students sustained minor injuries, while one boy suffered critical injuries. 

Mayor Ritu Tawde alleged that local administrative bodies had routinely ignored complaints filed by residents regarding the vulnerability of that specific tree. 

Local residents claim they raised serious allegations of civic negligence, claiming that repeated complaints sent to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) regarding unsafe, top-heavy trees in the neighbourhood had gone unheeded.

In another incident this week, a 55-year-old man in Munabi died after falling into an open manhole amid heavy rain, prompting the civic body to suspend four officials and order a high-level inquiry.

CCTV footage captured the man, identified as Shaikh, talking on his mobile phone before he walked past a parked tempo and disappeared into the uncovered manhole. The cover had been temporarily removed by three contractual workers carrying out maintenance work. The workers lowered a ladder into the manhole in a bid to rescue him, but recovered only his umbrella and slippers.

(With inputs from Yashpal Sonkamble)