Lucknow: Three boys aged between 10 to 12 years, drowned in a 10-foot-deep pit near a river in the Shahzad Nagar area of Rampur on Tuesday.
Hearing the cries for help locals rushed and rescued the unconscious children to a private hospital where they were declared dead. This incident comes hours after three boys similarly lost their lives in Pilibhit on Tuesday.
The latest incident occurred in Nipania village under the Shahzad Nagar police station limits. Vivek Pal (12), Rajpal (11) and Yash Lal (12), who left their homes at 4pm, were playing near the pit. Due to the intense heat, they decided to take a bath in the pit. However, the pit surface was marshy, making it difficult for them to swim and they drowned.
Similar incidents have been reported this year in UP where children have lost their lives in open pits left behind after unauthorised soil excavation beyond permissible limits.
On July 2, Nandini Chandra (8) and her cousin Sachin Kumar (7) drowned in a large pit dug by the irrigation and water resource department. The pit had accumulated water, and the guard was missing.
On June 28, a 7-year-old boy drowned after falling into a deep pit dug for the Ganga Expressway road project in Budaun.
On June 30, two children, aged 10 and 11, lost their lives in similar circumstances in Ughaiti area of Budaun. The district magistrate of Budaun has instructed all sub-divisional magistrates to identify such pits and implement necessary measures to ensure the safety of local villagers.
On June 26, three children between the ages of 7 and 10, drowned in a rainwater-filled pit near a brick kiln in Dabheri village, Muzaffarnagar district.
These incidents highlight the dangers associated with entering water-filled pits. The marginalised farming and labour communities are most affected by the lack of safety measures.
