Despite instructions last year from the lieutenant Governor to cover manholes, many still remain death traps, like the one which killed a five-year-old boy in Mehrauli on Saturday. The three municipal corporations have turned a blind eye and the responsibility is yet to be fixed in the matter.
Sources said it is the duty of the junior engineer to get the manholes covered. Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court had directed SDMC and DMRC to pay Rs 7 lakh to the family of a boy who drowned to death in an open storm water drain.
However, passing the buck, the civic body officials said that after major roads were transferred to PWD, they are only left with four-feet drains that cannot cause any death even if a person falls into it.
Sources in the corporation said that, the erstwhile MCD had allocated Rs 17 crore for covering of drains and manholes. While Rs 10 crore was for the equipments used to cover the open drains and manholes, Rs 2 crore was meant for maintenance of drains and manhole covers and Rs 5 crore was earmarked for desilting.