Watch: Five year old girl rescued after falling into uncovered manhole in Hyderabad

A five-year-old girl fell into an open manhole in Hyderabad’s Old City. Though rescued quickly by her mother, the incident sparked outrage. GHMC blamed Hydraa, which has launched an inquiry and appealed for citizen cooperation

Hyderabad: A five-year-old girl on her way to school fell into a manhole, which the GHMC said was left open by the Hydraa team, in Old City on Thursday morning.

The girl was walking along with her mother and sister when she slipped and fell into the open manhole in Yakutpura. The child’s mother rushed to her aid and pulled her out. A video of the incident, shared on social media platforms, went viral.

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As public criticism mounted at the incident, GHMC responded laying the blame squarely on Hydraa. GHMC Zonal Commissioner issued a statement saying that Deputy Commissioner of Santosh Nagar and Executive Engineer Division-7 rushed to the spot, visited the child’s residence, and enquired about her health.

The GHMC also said the Hydraa team had opened the manhole cover for cleaning on Wednesday and left the site without fixing the cover. In the statement, the Hydraa officials were asked to take precautions to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

Hydraa launches inquiry

Meanwhile, Hydraa Commissioner AV Ranganath ordered an inquiry into the incident.

A press release said Hydraa would thoroughly examine CCTV footage from Wednesday, when the manhole was opened, up to Thursday morning.

According to preliminary reports, Hydraa’s MET team opened the manhole on instructions from local corporator to remove accumulated silt using HMWSSB’s jetting machines. After cleaning, the manhole was not closed properly.

“On September 10, evening, when second shift MET staff attempted to close the manhole, the locals insisted it remain open, preventing closure. Consequently, the open manhole resulted in the child falling,” said the release.

Hydraa has urged citizens to report any manhole covers left open by calling: 9000113667.