Hyderabad: In a case of negligence, a five-year-old girl fell into an uncovered manhole in Rein Bazar in Old City on Thursday. As there was no flow of water in the manhole, later she was rescued. The incident initiated a blame game between GHMC, HYDRAA and Water Board.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras. The footage shows the child accidentally slipping into the uncovered manhole. The incident occurred at Maula ka Chilla area while the girl child was on her way to school.

Following the incident, the victim’s family and local residents expressed strong anger against GHMC officials. They said that if the child had not been rescued in time, the situation could have turned into a major tragedy. Residents demanded strict action against the negligent staff and urged that all such open manholes be closed immediately to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“Due to the negligence of the officials, a small girl received injuries. Such irresponsibility by the officials is unacceptable. Immediate action must be taken against the team responsible,” said Mohammed Ahmed, a resident. Meanwhile, senior officers from the GHMC’s Charminar zone rushed to the spot, visited the child’s residence, and enquired about her health.

A GHMC officer said for the desilting of the manhole, a HYDRAA team had opened the manhole cover on Wednesday and left the site without fixing the cover. The civic body informed the issue to HYDRAA officials and asked them to take precautions to prevent further such incidents. Meanwhile, HYDRAA claimed there was no negligence from HYDRAA. In the statement, the HDYRAA said that they are reviewing CCTV footage from Wednesday. HYDRAA will also arrange a meeting with the teams of local HYDRAA, Water Board, and GHMC departments on Friday.

Preliminary investigation suggests that after completing the work of desilting with a jetting machine, the Water Board staff left without covering the manhole. On Wednesday evening, the second shift maintenance staff noticed this and attempted to cover it, but locals intervened, stating the work was incomplete. On Thursday the incident was reported, stated HYDRAA.