Boy, 8, dies after falling into open STP tank in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: An eight-year-old boy died after accidentally falling into an open sewage treatment plant (STP) tank while he was playing in the Gayatripuram locality of Gudamba on Monday evening. The child, part of a migrant labourer's family from Bihar, was living with his parents and siblings in a nearby park after being evicted from their rented home.
According to police, the incident occurred around 5:30 pm in Abhinav Park when the boy, identified as Ritesh, was playing with his siblings. While tossing a rope as part of a game, he climbed over the park railing and fell into an open STP tank located on the other side. His brother Divyansh and sister Shubhi, who witnessed the fall, immediately raised an alarm.
Locals rushed to the scene and informed the police. Police constable Awadhesh Kumar, part of the responding team, managed to pull the child out after a 45-minute rescue effort. Ritesh was rushed to the nearby community health centre (CHC), where doctors declared him brought dead. His body was sent for a postmortem.
The boy's father, Vijay Kumar, a native of Bhouraha's Naya Gaon in Sheohar district of Bihar, moved to Lucknow in search of livelihood and was working as a daily-wage labourer in Gayatripuram along with his wife. The couple went out for work earlier in the day, leaving their five children to play in the nearby park.
Police said that the family was forced to vacate their rented accommodation just days ago due to non-payment of rent. Since then, they had been living near a public restroom in Abhinav Park.
Bakshi Ka Talab ire station officer Prashant Kumar said, "An ambulance from the fire station Bakshi Talab and a fire tanker vehicle left for the spot. However, the child was taken out of the STP plant located in the park with the help of local people and civil police and taken to CHC Gudamba."
Following the incident, senior municipal officials, including additional municipal commissioner Lalit Kumar, chief engineer Mahesh Kumar, and zonal officer Akash Kumar, arrived at the site and launched an investigation.
We couldn't have closed it: LMC commissioner
LMC commissioner Inderjit Singh said that the boy died after falling into the concrete tank of a small 0.5 MLD sewage treatment plant (STP) located within a public park. "The tank was enclosed by a four-foot-high iron railing," said Singh. On the question of why it was kept open, the LMC commissioner told TOI that it is an open type of STP. "If we keep it closed, then it might burst due to the accumulation of gases for a long period of time," he said.
My dreams dies with him, says dad
"My dreams died with him," said the grieving father after the boy's tragic death.
Holding back tears, Vijay Kumar, a daily-wage labourer from Bihar, sat silently on the pavement of the park where his eight-year-old son took his last breath. "Mera bachcha hi mera sapna tha... sab kuch chala gaya (My child was my dream, and it's gone now)," he whimpered.
The boy, full of promise and quiet determination, recently told his father that he wanted to study in a govt school and "become something good in life". He was bright-eyed and hopeful, despite the hardships his family faced. His dreams were simple, yet powerful — to lift his family out of poverty through education. But those dreams ended on Monday evening when he slipped and fell into an uncovered sewage treatment plant tank while playing, as his parents worked nearby trying to earn enough for a meal.
Another child had died same time last year
Last year on April 23, an eight-year-old boy died after falling into a manhole in the Jankipuram extension area. Sahrukh, son of Saifuddin, was pulled out from the manhole by rescuers and taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
The angry locals alleged negligence on the part of municipal workers who are supposed to take care of manholes and demanded action against the guilty persons.
Thereafter, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) sprang into action and claimed to have changed and repaired approximately 72 manhole lids, including the one where the unfortunate event occurred, following a survey conducted in various areas of the city.