17-year-old boy saves toddler from drowning in broken sewer in Gzb
An impulsive action by a 17-year-old boy helped save the life of a threeyear-old girl, who fell into an open sewer in Govindpuram, on Sunday evening.
The residents said that the sewer line has been open since the last two months and the civic body failed to fix it, which resulted in the accident.
The girl, identified as Sonali, was playing near the broken sewer line around 5pm when she slipped and fell inside the sewer. When her friends raised the alarm, Sumit Bajrangi, who was busy at his father’s shop, rushed to the spot and pulled out the drowning girl in the nick of time.
“It just took about two to three minutes. When I went inside the sewer, I was able to trace the little girl who was wearing a green frock. With some support from a few local
boys, I pulled her out and also managed to come out safely. I did not think twice while going inside the sewer. My intention was to save the girl at any cost. My hand got bruised in the process but I was content that I
could save her as she would have died if precious time was lost,” Sumit said.
Sumit, a student of class 11 at a private school, lives in Govindpuram’s E block and his family has a tent and decoration shop, adjacent to the incident site. “The sewer was covered with a lid but it broke about two months ago. After the girl was rescued, I put a bamboo stick inside to check the depth and found that it was more than 15-foot deep,” he added.
The family of the girl hails from Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh and came to Govindpuram in Ghaziabad about two months back. Her mother, who works as a domestic help in nearby houses, fainted when local residents informed her about the incident. Later, she was given medication and regained her senses.
“It has been about two months since we arrived here and the sewer was always in this shape. I fainted when my neighbours said that my daughter fell inside the deep drain. She was rescued by the brave boy but is suffering from fever. I am giving her medicines as prescribed by the doctor,” said Tulsa Devi, the mother of the girl, who is also on medication after the incident.
A video of the live rescue of the girl also went viral on various social media platforms. “The sewer has been left open for the past couple of months and the girl fell inside. There has been complete laxity on the part of the municipal corporation and we demand that it should be fixed immediately. The civic body should bear the expenses of the girl’s treatment as well,” said a local woman, who wished not to be named.
The officials of the municipal corporation in Ghaziabad said that they have repaired the sewer on Monday.
“I have asked our field staff to look out for broken sewers and manholes across localities. They have been asked to get them fixed at the earliest and without fail. The broken sewer at Govindpuram was repaired after the incident,” said Mahendra Singh Tanwar, Ghaziabad municipal commissioner.