Rain pounds Hyderabad; 9-year-old girl washed away in drain

HYDERABAD: Massive rainfall in the early hours of Saturday left a trail of destruction in several localities of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. A nine-year-old girl died after being swept away in a drain in Kalasiguda in Secunderabad.
According to eyewitnesses, the girl, Mounika, accompanied by her elder brother, was returning home after buying groceries from a local kirana store when she fell into a roadside nala and got swept away in gushing storm water.
As they were walking back home, the girl's brother, a boy with learning difficulties, slipped and fell near the ditch. She helped him regain balance, but the little girl too slipped and fell into the ditch and got washed away. Locals tried to search for Mounika in the vicinity, but couldn't locate her. Immediately, a Disaster Response Force (DRF) team reached the spot and managed to fish out the body from the drain an hour later. Family members broke down on seeing Mounika's body. Locals blamed GHMC officials for not erecting barricades or signages warning citizens about the ongoing work near the drain.
GHMC commissioner Lokesh Kumar has suspended assistant executive engineer M Thirumalaiah and work inspector BM Hari Krishna for negligence in discharging their duty while laying VDCC road at Kalasiguda.
The VDCC work, outsourced to a private agency, was also suspended and the agency has been blacklisted.
Lokesh deputed executive engineer, Khairatabad, R Indira Bai, to conduct an inquiry and submit a report for further action within 10 days.
Police registered a case under Section 174 (unnatural death) of the CrPC. After investigation, police might alter the case. Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi announced Rs 2 lakh ex gratia to Mounika’s family.