13-year-old boy drowns in water collected in a pit on vacant plot

RESIDENTS SAID THE BOY LIVED IN THE SLUMS NEARBY. DIVERS PULLED THE BOY OUT OF THE POND, WHICH WAS AT LEAST EIGHTFOOT DEEP

GURUGRAM: A 13-year-old boy allegedly drowned on Sunday in a pond that had formed naturally after rainwater collected in a pit on a vacant plot in Sector 37-C near Dwarka Expressway.

Residents said they have repeatedly tweeted about the stagnant water in the vacant plot but authorities have not responded.

Police said they have not received any complaint.

Station house officer of the area Yashwant Singh said no complaint of drowning was received on Sunday or Monday.

The incident took place around noon, general secretary of Tak- shila Heights residents’ welfare association, Vikas Bansal, who lives near the plot, said.

He said the boy lived in the slums nearby. He said the boy’s parents raised the alarm after they noticed him missing.

Another resident, requesting anonymity, said some divers pulled the boy out of the pond, which was at least eight-foot deep.

“He was unconscious and a lot of muddy water had entered his nose and mouth,” said the resident.

“People tried to use cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to revive him. He was taken to a private hospital, where he was declared brought dead,” Bansal said.

No official from the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran or Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon was available for comment.

On August 12, a 9-year-old girl died while her friend was seriously injured after they fell into a sewage pit in Dhunela village, Sohna. The children were walking home after attending tuition classes when the incident took place.