Open sewer trap

Last year, we watched with horror the fate of four-year-old Jihad who had fallen down an unguarded borehole and the saga that unfolded in the botched attempt by the fire brigade to rescue him. The drama gripped the nation and the boy's dead body was finally recovered, not by the authorities concerned, but a group of young people who designed a makeshift rescue contraption. This time around, we are confronted by the death of young Nirob Hossain, a five-year-old who disappeared after falling down a sewer in Shyampur area of the capital on December 8. Nirob landed in a storm sewer that was left open and unguarded and was ultimately flushed out in the Buriganga River after five hours.

This is death due to negligence, pure and simple. We would like to know who is responsible for this. It had to be the death of an unfortunate young child for us to wake up to the gross oversight of the concerned departments. What has been allowed to happen is tantamount to murder and it should be treated as such, and whoever is responsible needs to be brought before the law to answer for criminal conduct. 

It is perhaps time that the apex court in the land issues a rule upon authorities like Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to start compensating the families of victims like Nirob for allowing death traps like sewers to be left open. WASA must ensure that all such exposed manholes are covered immediately.