Delhi BJP chief blasts AAP govt as child drowns in drain

New Delhi: BJP's Delhi President Virendra Sachdeva on Monday hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government after a boy was found drowned in a drain, saying the situation in the national capital is such that people don’t have clean drinking water, yet they die by drowning.

Expressing his concern over the incident in the Ashok Vihar area, he said that under the AAP government, no one is safe and the 9-year-old boy died just because public bathrooms in the area were overflowing with filth. He claimed that 20 to 22 similar incidents took place between July and August.

The BJP leader continued to attack the AAP government, saying that people in Delhi were dying due to waterlogging, electric shocks, and road accidents. He accused Delhi Minister Atishi of shifting the blame to officials instead of taking responsibility and also alleged that while AAP ministers enjoy perks like allowances, cars, and bungalows, they neglect their duties and engage in corruption.

Sachdeva slammed the AAP government for failing to address issues like broken roads, overflowing drains, and other civic problems, and that its inaction was leading to people dying by drowning in waterlogged areas.

The 9-year-old boy, named Prince, was missing from Udham Singh Park in the Ashok Vihar area since Sunday morning.

Prince lived with his family in shanties near Udham Singh Park. As he had been missing since 9 a.m., the family filed a missing person report at Ashok Vihar police station, after which both the family and police began searching for him.

In the evening, someone informed the police that the boy had been seen heading towards the drain in the Wazirpur Industrial Area in the morning.

When the police and family members checked the drain, maintained by the, they found the boy's body. He was taken out with the help of local people and rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Municipal Councillor Yogesh Verma said that the drain, which is six feet wide and eight feet deep, falls under the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), but the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is responsible for its maintenance and cleaning.