Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) has taken responsibility for an open manhole in the Old City, in which a five-year-old girl fell. The incident, which occurred on Thursday morning in Maula-ka-Chilla in Rein Bazar, had initially sparked a blame game between the GHMC, HYDRAA, and the Water Board.

According to HYDRAA Commissioner A V Ranganath, a preliminary inquiry was conducted on Friday morning. “Prima facie, HYDRAA is responsible for it, and the person in charge of the team will be held accountable. We will fix the responsibility/accountability and take stringent action on the erring personnel,” he said.

After the inquiry, the authorities demoted two DRF supervisors, and dismissed two members of Monsoon Emergency Teams.

The GHMC, after its senior officers visited the child’s residence to inquire about her health, stated that a HYDRAA team had opened the manhole on Wednesday for desilting and left the site without fixing the cover. The civic body informed HYDRAA officials about the issue and asked them to take precautions to prevent such incidents.

Initial investigations suggested that after completing the desilting work, the Water Board staff left without covering the manhole. However, the second-shift maintenance staff noticed this on Wednesday evening and attempted to cover it but were stopped by locals who claimed the work was incomplete. HYDRAA has since appealed to citizens to stay vigilant and inform authorities if they notice any open manholes. People can report such cases by calling 9000113667