- Birju Kumar, a labourer, fell into the manhole in Rohini on Monday and his body was found the next day
- Kumar and his friend were drunk when the incident occurred
- The manhole was covered after the death
In yet another avoidable tragedy in Delhi, a man has died after falling into an open manhole.
Officials said Birju Kumar, a labourer, and his friend were heading home when the 30-year-old fell into the manhole, on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land, near the Mahashakti Kali temple in Rohini Sector 32 on Monday night. Both Kumar and his friend, who is also a labourer, had been drinking throughout the day and were inebriated at the time of the incident.
The friend said he tried calling out to Kumar but got no response and then went home because he was very drunk. When there was no sign of Kumar the next day as well, a search operation was launched by the Delhi Police and the Fire Department and his slippers were found next to the manhole.
Kumar's death was confirmed around 4 pm on Tuesday after his body was recovered from the sewer. The labourer was originally from Samastipur in Bihar.
"I came running back and called out to him, but he couldn't hear me in the water. What could I have done? I was also very drunk and I could not figure out what was happening," Kumar's friend said.
After the incident, the manhole has been covered.
Kumar's death comes five days after 25-year-old Kamal Dhayani fell into a nearly 15-foot deep pit, dug by the Delhi Jal Board, while riding his motorcycle in Delhi's Janakpuri on February 5.
Dhayani fell into the pit that night, and his body and the TVS Apache bike he was riding were found the next day. Kamal's twin brother, Karan Dhayani, said the family had visited several police stations, including Dabri, Vikas Puri and Sagarpur, while searching for him that night, but received no assistance. He also said there were no warning boards, reflectors or barricades around the pit.
A case was registered and several Delhi Jal Board officials were suspended.
Last month, in neighbouring Noida, 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj Mehta was killed after his Grand Vitara skidded in dense fog while taking a turn towards his apartment building in Sector 150. There were two barriers around a drain between the road and the pit, and his car either jumped them or broke through them and landed in the water.
The engineer, who did not know how to swim, managed to stay alive for about 90 minutes. His father reached the spot first after getting a call from him and was then joined by teams from the police, fire brigade and the State Disaster Response Force. Because of the thick fog, Mehta could not be located, and he drowned.
