Last Tuesday evening, Rambabu Sah and Shyambabu Sah of Sarabe, Northeast Kamala Municipality-2 of Dhanusha were very busy. They were worried when 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.

After a while, that worry turned into grief. Both the children were found dead after drowning in frozen water in a pit dug on the road under construction a few meters away.

Just 15 days ago, a deep hole was formed on the agricultural road after the soil was removed. Hrithik and Ritish drowned in the same pit filled with rain water. Rajendra Kumar Mandal is the contractor for the road, which was undertaken by Jayababa Construction.

The incident of children drowning in the frozen water in the pits created after removing the soil from the side during road construction, expansion or upgrading has been recurring in Madhesh. According to the Madhesh Pradesh Police Office Janakpur, 39 people have drowned in Dhanusha alone in the current financial year, including 23 children. 

Sad news spread in Jingdwa village located in Parsa Rural Municipality-5 of Sarlahi on May 7. After the clay was removed by the Jossona brick kiln, the water had accumulated in the pit. 5-year-old Subajit Majhi died after drowning in that pit. Only three days later, the family found Subajit's body drowning in a ditch.

Shivam Majhi of Diuri village in Gaya district of Vihar province, India, who came to Parsa in search of employment, has returned mourning the death of his son. 

A similar incident also 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. Their bodies were found two days later by the entire family who went searching.

The water was frozen in the gravel pit near the house. Both died by drowning in the same hole. According to Sushil Mandal, Rahul's father and Ashish's uncle, there was a deep pit where the gravel was dug. But they drowned because they could not find the ditch because it was filled with rain water.

In Madhesh, the death of children by drowning in frozen water in pits dug out of soil or gravel during the rains has not stopped. Looking at the 10-month data obtained from the provincial police office, an average of 11 children drowned every month. As of June 6 of the current year, 202 people have lost their lives due to drowning in 8 districts of Madhesh province.

According to the provincial police office, 37 people died in Sarlahi due to drowning in water holes or ditches during this period. They have 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 who died in Parsa, 6 out of 10 who died in Bara, 9 out of 12 children who died in Siraha died in Anahak during this period. 23 out of 39 children drowned in Dhanusha and 18 out of 30 in Rautahat.

According to the police, 542 people have drowned in Madhesh in the last three years. In which the number of children is 321. In other words, the share of children in drowning deaths is 59 percent. Although children die every year due to drowning, it seems that neither the local level nor the state government or the association pay attention to it. The number of deaths due to drowning is increasing every year. The data of three years since 2079/080 shows such a scene.

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 to 202 over the previous year.

According to Vikram Sah, Police Inspector of Madhesh Pradesh Police Office, Janakpur, although there are many cases of children being swept away by floods and jumping into rivers, most of them 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.' The water falls mostly around May-June. The road is also dug during this period," said Tiwari, "Many parents have died by drowning in such pits. After the incident, the hole is filled. However, the damage is increasing when that mischief is repeated year after year.'

It seems that all the 136 municipalities and state governments of Madhesh have made preparations for floods, landslides, cold waves, heat waves, fires, hurricanes, etc. as disasters. However, does it not 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. 

Sports and Social Welfare Minister of 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 great loss. The state government should now move forward to prevent this.'