The pit in the Government Arts College ground near K.R. Circle was filled with rainwater
Even as nine-year-old Geethalakshmi’s body was recovered from Madiwala Lake, a 13-year-old boy drowned in a six-foot deep pit filled with rainwater in the Government Arts College ground near K.R. Circle on Wednesday afternoon.
The college was closed as Wednesday was a public holiday. The deceased, R. Yeshwanth, was playing cricket with three other friends on the ground. He fell into the pit while trying to retrieve a ball. He was pulled out and rushed to Victoria Hospital where he was declared dead.
Though popular since decades, the ground has been frequented by the public, especially after the compound wall was demolished when work on the Namma Metro began.
The pits, six feet deep, were dug up in connection with the construction of a postgraduate (PG) block. More than 10 such pits have been dug up and left with no warning or safety measures. Following incessant rain, water had collected in all the pits, converting them into death traps.
Principal K.M. Venkataswamy Reddy said the Department of Collegiate Education (DCE) had given the contract for the PG block to the Karnataka Housing Board. “Work started about a month and half ago but was stalled as requests had been made to the Bescom to change a transformer and cables before construction begins,” he said.
(The Hindu)
