10-yr-old falls to death

Hospital pit was left open for construction

A 10-year-old grandson of a Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) employee died after falling into a 10-feet-deep pit on a construction site near staff quarters in the hospital campus.

Nearly 200 hospital employees of LHMC and associated Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital (KSCH) gathered at the director’s office demanding a thorough inquiry into the matter.

Monty went out of his house to play at 6.30 pm after returning from tuition on Wednesday. Around 7 pm, his body was found floating on the surface of an open pit.

He was immediately taken to the hospital and put on ventilator. The doctors pronounced him dead at 9 am on Thursday.

“Pits have been lying open everywhere for many months since the construction work began. It is very unsafe. The tragedy was in the waiting,” said Vimla, who works in hospital’s laboratory and stays in Block 85, where the incident happened. The pits were covered on Thursday.

An FIR was registered at Mandir Marg police station on Wednesday evening. The Residents Welfare Association of the area wrote to the LHMC’s director and associated hospitals on March 23, 2012 to bring the problems caused by rampant construction work on the campus to their notice.

“We are not against construction and expansion. But it is done arbitrarily which causes great inconvenience to the patients and residents,” said a senior staff member.

The RWA letter said that water, electricity and sewer connections had been cut due to digging and other construction related activities.

“A big truck broke electricity wires. The other day a truck full of diesel got stuck due to an open pit. It almost fell next to an electricity pole and a big disaster was just averted,” said Vimla.

 As the area has been dug out, dust is scattered all over around. The cases of asthma and other chest diseases have increased in the area. Many residents, especially children, are complaining of regular irritation in eyes.

“Open and dirty water bodies have become breeding ground for mosquitoes. Children are getting infected with various diseases. We can’t link it directly to unclean atmosphere here, but it is obvious,” said a resident.

The construction is a part of the large-scale redevelopment plan for the hospital. Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation, a government enterprise, has the construction contract which has further sub-contracted it to a private company.

Construction activities will be on for at least four to five years.

Authorities were not available to comment on the issue.

A construction company spokesperson said they are trying to cause as less inconvenience as possible to the people.