A six-year-old boy lost his life on Tuesday evening after accidentally falling into an open gutter in Ratanpur village near GIFT City in Gandhinagar district, raising serious concerns over civic negligence and child safety in labour settlements

Child identified as son of migrant labourers

According to police officials, the deceased has been identified as Priyansh Rajkumar Ram, the son of migrant labourers who had recently moved from Jharkhand to work in the GIFT City area. The family resides in a labourers’ colony at Ratanpur village, close to GIFT City.

As both parents work as daily wage labourers, Priyansh usually stayed back in the colony with other older children during work hours.

Tragic fall during playtime

Police and fire officials said the incident occurred on Tuesday evening when Priyansh was playing with other children near the colony. During play, he reportedly slipped and fell into an open gutter that had been left uncovered for a long period.

The other children immediately informed Priyansh’s parents, who alerted the authorities. A team from the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation rushed to the spot and pulled the child out of the gutter.

Rescue efforts fail

A 108 emergency ambulance was called to the site. Ambulance staff administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and attempted to revive the child by manually stimulating his heart. Despite these efforts, Priyansh did not respond.

He was rushed to Gandhinagar Civil Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. A medico-legal case was registered soon after.

Probe launched into civic lapse

Dabhoda police have initiated an investigation into the incident. A postmortem examination was conducted at the Gandhinagar Civil Hospital, and further legal action will be decided after the report is received.

Sources said the gutter had remained open for a long time and no preventive measures were taken to cover or secure it, despite the presence of children in the area. The incident has once again highlighted safety lapses in labour colonies and the risks faced by children of migrant workers.