The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Fatal pond throws up disturbing questions

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 18, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Fatal pond throws up disturbing questions

Karthik Subramanian

It was not fenced, nor were there any signs Most visitors would mistake the moss-covered pond for a lawn

DEATH TRAP: One of the two lotus ponds of Anna Nagar Visveswaraya Tower Park, as seen on Tuesday evening. A four-year-old died after drowning in the other pond on Monday afternoon. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: The death of a four-year-old girl at Visveswaraya Tower Park in Anna Nagar on Monday afternoon is a tale of negligence on the part of school authorities who took the child along with others on a picnic.

It also points to the poor maintenance of the park by Chennai Corporation authorities.

On Tuesday, a visit to the accident spot revealed that one of the two ponds in the northern corner of the park were filled to the brim.

The moss-covered pond, hardly four feet deep and about 12 feet wide, looked deceptively like a lawn.

Only regular visitors to the park would be expected to differentiate the nearby grass from the moss on the water. What is waist-deep water for adults was fatal to the child on Monday. Several questions beg the answer following Monday's accident that claimed the life of Nandini, a kindergarten student of a private school in Gopalapuram. The park is usually closed to visitors between 11.30 a.m. and 3 p.m. On Monday, the authorities closed the park and left, but allowed the school picnic to go on.

An official said that the teachers had requested the authorities to allow them to remain a little longer as the children were having their lunch.

Frenzied search

The lotus pond where Nandini's body was found after a frenzied search by the school authorities is more than 50 metres away from the children's play area. Though the Chennai Corporation has taken up the park's renovation in recent months, work slowed down over the last couple of weeks. Officials said it was mainly because of the local body elections.

The civic agency has started fencing the lawns in other parts of the park, as in other city parks.

But their decision to let the ponds remain without fencing or warning signs defies logic, say locals.

What is most surprising is that the moss-covered ponds were still not cleaned up till Tuesday evening. No warning signs or blockades were placed.

When contacted, park authorities said they would put up blocks either on Wednesday or Thursday.

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