Mishap: 9-year-old boy dies after falling into open drain in Cuttack, family blames CMC officials

By Shrikant Panda

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 16: A nine-year-old boy studying in Class III died on Sunday evening after falling into an open drain in Odisha’s Cuttack city.

As per reports, the deceased identified as Joseph Sahani, died after accidentally falling into an open drain while flying kite near his house at Bidanasi. The family members claimed that Joseph had stepped out of the house without informing anybody.

Joseph was a student of Modern Public School in Cuttack.

“After our lunch, we were watching TV when Joseph went out without informing anyone of us. He fell into the open drain accidentally while flying a kite,” said a relative.

The family members blamed the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) officials for the tragic death of the minor boy.

“It has been almost two to three months that the ongoing construction work of the drain has been stopped. The authorities have left open the major drain in the locality at several points. Had the drain been covered with concrete slabs by the CMC, the incident could have been avoided,” said another local resident.

Despite repeated attempts, the CMC authorities did not give their comments.

On January 12, a South Korean photojournalist suffered injuries after falling into an open drain in state capital Bhubaneswar. The journalist has come to Bhubaneswar to cover the ongoing FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup.