New Delhi: Delhi Government on Saturday ordered
a probe into the drowning of four children in a water pit last
night in north Delhi, and announced compensation of Rs one
lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased.
Ritesh (7), Atul (9), Vikas (10) and Narendra (11) died
after falling into the pit, dug up by the Delhi Jal Board to
lay a water pipeline, at Gopalpur Gaon of Timarpur area.
A case of criminal negligence has already been
registered.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced the
compensation and asked DJB to conduct a thorough probe into
the incident.
The DJB subsequently instituted an inquiry panel and
asked it to submit its report by Wednesday.
"We want to inquire how the incident happend... how did
the children stray there," Dikshit told reporters, announcing
an ex-gratia compensation of Rs one lakh each to next of kin
of the deceased.
DJB officials said the pit was dug by a contractor who
was awarded the work to lay water pipeline in the area.
The incident comes a few days after a 12-year-old boy
died after he fell into a pit dug by Delhi Jal Board for
laying water pipeline in Panchasheel Enclave in south Delhi.
Meanwhile leader of opposition in the Delhi Assembly,
V K Malhotra expressed anguish at the death of the children,
terming it as a "criminal negligence" on the part of the
agency involved in the digging work.
Referring to the incident at Panchasheel Enclave, he
said had the city government taken that incident seriously,
this mishap could have been avoided.
The BJP leader also demanded strict adherence of
safety norms by all agencies involved in various construction
activities.
He said people found responsible for such mishaps
should be punished.
Malhotra demanded compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to
the next of kin of those killed in the incident.
PTI
