5-year-old Dies After Falling into Open Mission Bhagiratha Pit in Jangaon

Hyderabad: A five-year-old girl, Y. Mokshita, has died after falling into an uncovered Mission Bhagiratha pit filled with water in Alimpur village of Bachannapet mandal in Jangaon district on Thursday.

Local sources said a four-metre-deep pit had been excavated about 20 days ago in front of the Alimpur Upper Primary School to repair a leak in the Mission Bhagiratha pipeline. The pit was neither filled nor fenced after the work was halted, despite posing a risk to schoolchildren and residents.

The incident occurred when Y. Kavitha, an anganwadi helper, brought her two daughters to the school. While playing, the younger child slipped into the pit. The mother and the seven-year-old elder sister, Y. Dakshita, jumped in to rescue her after noticing the child was missing. Locals pulled all the three out, but the girl had died.

The incident triggered protests by relatives and villagers, who blamed negligence by the Mission Bhagiratha department and contractors for leaving the pit open near the school.

Executive engineer B. Surya said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was carrying out road-widening works in the area and had control of the site while shifting pipelines when a leakage occurred. He said attempts were made to close the pit but villagers opposed the move, suggesting it remain open until the works were completed. He added that the department was not responsible as the site was under the NHAI control.

Villagers, however, said they had repeatedly asked the officials to close the pit as leaking water had filled it and created a danger. They alleged that the officials decided to wait a day to monitor the leakage to avoid repeated digging.

Residents demanded action against those responsible, an inquiry into safety protocols during the repairs and compensation for the bereaved family.