It is Tuesday evening. Rambabu Sah and Shyambabu Sah of Sarabe, North-Eastern Kamala Municipality-2 of Dhanusa were in a hurry. Rambabu's 7-year-old son Rithik and Shyambabu's 5-year-old son Ritish, who had left home to play together in the afternoon, did not return home, and they were suddenly worried.

However, the news that came after a while turned their worries into grief. 

Two children were found drowned in frozen water in a hole dug on the road under construction a few meters away. 

Only 15 days ago, after removing the soil from the agricultural road, there was a deep hole. Jayababa Construction had dug a hole there during road construction . The pit was filled with water due to continuous rains . Hrithik and Ritish, who reached there while playing, drowned in that pit. The contractor for the road construction is Rajendra Kumar Mandal.

The incident of children drowning in the pits created after removing soil from the side during road construction, expansion or upgrading is not new for Madhesh. According to the Madhesh Pradesh Police Office, Janakpur, 39 people drowned in Dhanusha alone in the current financial year, including 23 children. 

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last May 7th . Sad news spread in Jingdwa village located in Parsa Rural Municipality-5 of Sarlahi. Josh Sona brick kiln created a hole with water in it. 5-year-old Subajit Majhi died after drowning in that pit. More sadly, the family found Suwajit's body drowning in a ditch just three days after the search for him. 

Shivam Majhi from Diuri village in Gaya district of Vihar province, India came here to work in a brick kiln. He came in search of employment and returned with the injuries caused by his son's death. 

A similar incident happened in Siraha on June 17. 7-year-old Rahul Mandal and 8-year-old Ashish Mandal of Naraha Rural Municipality-3 Khoria suddenly disappeared from home. The whole family, who was involved in the search, found their bodies only after two days. Water was frozen in the gravel pit near the house . They died by drowning in that pit. 

According to Sushil Mandal, father of deceased child Rahul and uncle of Ashish, there was a deep hole in the place where the gravel was dug. The rain filled the water there . They lost their lives by drowning because they couldn't find sheep.

In Madhesh, the death of children drowning in frozen water in pits dug out of mud or gravel during the rains has not stopped . Looking at the 10-month data received from the provincial police office, an average of 11 children die by drowning every month. In the current financial year 081/082, 202 people have lost their lives by drowning in 8 districts of Madhesh province.

According to the provincial police office, 37 people died in Sarlahi by drowning in water holes or ditches during this period. In which there are 15 children . Among the 29 people who drowned in Saptari, 15 are children. Of the 27 people who drowned in Mahottari, 21 are children. 9 out of 18 children in Parsa, 6 out of 10 in Bara, 9 out of 12 children in Siraha died in Anahak during this period . 23 out of 39 children drowned in Dhanusha and 18 out of 30 in Rautahat. 

Children at risk
According to the police, 542 people have drowned in Madhesh in the last three years. In which the number of children is only 321. In other words, the share of children in drowning deaths is 59 percent. 

Even though children die every year by drowning, neither the local level nor the state government or the union pay attention to it. The number of deaths by drowning is increasing every year due to this helchakrai . The data of three years since 2079/080 shows such a view. 

155 people drowned in 2079/080. In 080/081 this rate increased by more than 19 percent to 185 . In the 10 months of 081/082, this rate increased by more than 9 percent from the previous year and reached 202 . 

Madhesh Pradesh Police Office Janakpur police inspector Vikram Sah said that although there are many cases of children being carried away by flood and jumping into the river, most of the children die by drowning in the frozen water in potholes and some ponds or reservoirs. He said, "Drowning of children has become a big problem in Madhesh Province." "Water falls mostly around May-June". The road is also dug during this period," Tiwari said, "Many parents have died by drowning in such pits. After the incident, the hole will be filled . However, if that mischief is repeated year after year, the damage is increasing.'

It seems that all 136 municipalities and state governments of Madhesh have made preparations for floods, landslides, cold waves, heat, fire, wind storms etc. as disasters. However, doesn't it seem that the government at that level prioritizes compensation for those who drown and die in ponds, rivers, ditches and ditches dug randomly by contractors? 

Minister of Sports and Social Welfare of the Madhesh government Pramod Jaiswal said that the data of children's death due to drowning is shocking. There is news that children have died by drowning. Nothing has been done so far," Minister Jaiswal said. "In this matter, the state government should consult with the police and the local level. This is a huge loss . The state government should now move forward to prevent this.'