Guwahati, Sept 5: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the state’s chief secretary to deploy satellite imagery to identify open drains across urban areas.
The directive follows mounting public concern over safety risks, compounded by frequent reports of manhole cover thefts at night.
On Wednesday, a three-year-old boy died after falling into an exposed drain near Vivekananda School in the Kalapahar area of Guwahati.
According to reports, the child had been playing near an under-construction site around 3 pm. He was found three hours later, but despite efforts, doctors at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) declared him dead.
The tragedy has highlighted serious lapses by civic authorities in securing hazardous drains, particularly in residential zones.
Chief Minister Sarma emphasised stricter oversight of construction sites and urged immediate preventive measures to avert such incidents in the future.
