Child Drowns In Abandoned PHE Tank In Sonai; Locals Blame Lack Of Safety Measures

A tragic incident was reported from Sonai in Cachar district on Thursday morning (January 15), where a four-and-a-half-year-old boy drowned after falling into a water tank of an abandoned PHE project under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

The deceased, Wahid Ahmed Barbhuiya, was the youngest of five children of daily wage earner Bahar Uddin Choudhury of Selurpar village. Wahid reportedly fell into the rainwater-filled tank of the incomplete PHE project near his home while playing.

Speaking to reporters, an inconsolable Bahar Uddin said, “I work as a daily wage earner and left home early in the morning to earn money to fill their stomachs.” He rushed back home after being informed about his son’s death.

Locals alleged that the project had been abandoned midway by the contractor and no boundary wall or barricade was put up around the site. “If there were a boundary wall around the PHE tank or even a gate blocking the staircase, this incident might not have happened,” a local resident said.

Despite the project being non-functional, rainwater had accumulated in the tank, turning it into a death trap. Sonai police reached the spot after being informed, recovered the child’s body, and sent it to Silchar Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination.

The incident has cast a pall of gloom over the village.