Toddler girl drowns in open drain

 

Police said Janani, daughter of Srinivasan, a tailor and resident of Kannikapuram, Avadi, was crawling around in the backyard where she tripped into the inlet-water channel  of Paruthipattu lake. 

 

As it was dark in the night, Srinivasan who came looking for the child saw the child struggling for the life and rushed her to a private hospital in Kamaraj Nagar and was subsequently referred to the government Hospital in Avadi. The family then took the girl to Sir Ivan Stedeford Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.

 

The open water drain has different width ranging from 6 to 10 feet in different localities. The residents were demanding the closure of the drain for some time now. 

Officials at the Avadi Municipality, when contacted, said the residents have used the rear portion of their houses as entrances when the actual entrance to their houses is on the other side. 

 

“We have been telling them not to use this channel side as an entry and exit to their houses. When we tried the fence the area the residents objected to it,” the official noted.

 

The water draining facility cannot be closed as these channels serve as inlet-water-flow channels for more than 10 lakes in Avadi. Closing them would lead to clogging which would result in flooding. “If we close 6 km long channels in Avadi, clogging would result in flooding,” the officer said.