Kerala HC directs Kochi corporation to cover all drains in 2 weeks

KOCHI, (ANI): The Kerala High Court on Friday took suo moto cognizance of the incident wherein a three-year-old child was injured after falling in an uncovered drainage in Kochi on Thursday. Single Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran also directed the Kochi corporation to slab or barricade all the open drains in two weeks.

Court also directed the Kochi Corporation and the District Collector of Ernakulam to conduct a security audit and submit the report in due course or by the next posting date, if ready. The court observed this while issuing a direction that, “It is a matter of great joy that the child has not been injured severely, though I am fully aware that it could have seen for graver consequences. It is pure providential grace that this Court is not faced with a situation which could have been horrendous. Imagine if something had happened to that child, the consequences would have been far more grave. The city is not only for adults. It is also for the children, it is also for the old and the infirm. The absolute imperative of making the city safe, be it young, old or infirm, has now attained acme proportions with this one incident. Unless we act now, the day would not be far when we would have to see the full consequences of such an incident. This is unthinkable.”

The court will consider this matter again on December 2. The three-year-old boy was injured after he fell into a drain in Panampilly Nagar at Kochi on Thursday night around 8.30 pm.

He fell when he was returning home from Kadavanthra. He slipped into the drain while walking on the roadside. Then the mother stopped him with her foot when he started to drift away. (ANI)