The girl was hunting for cow dung in Noida’s sector-63 area in order to perform the Govardhan Puja
A 12-year old girl met a tragic end after she was engulfed in a hot silo while searching for cow dung in order to perform Govardhan Puja at her village in Noida’s sector- 63 area. The bitumen-concrete mixing plant has a mixture of various materials and the girl was trying to reach the other side to pick up cow dung when she fell in the hot mixture, and was charred to death.
According to the police, the victim has been identified as 12 year-old Kritika Mishra, a resident of Chhajarsi and a Class 8 student in a private school in the neighbourhood.
Narrating the ordeal, Himanshu Mishra, who had accompanied Kritika told DNA, “I went along with Kritika to fetch cow dung. While returning we were walking on a mound alongside the plant, when she accidentally slipped into the silo containing molten tar,” he said.
An alarmed Himanshu immediately ran to inform Kritika’s family. “I was preparing for the puja, when Himanshu came running and informed us that Kritika had slipped into a hot silo. We immediately rushed to the spot to rescue her, but by then she was completely charred to death. We tried to enter the silo using a ladder, but the temperature in the silo was too high for anyone to enter it. Finally the body was recovered using a JCB machine,” said Alka Mishra, the deceased’s mother.
“I work as a maid but I always dreamed of making her a teacher. She was a bright student. I had been saving money for her education all the time. Now, she is no more and the house would not be the same without her,” she said.
After the accident, locals held a demonstration at the plant and alleged that the bitumen-concrete hot-mix plant was being illegally operated in the area, and is a source of noise and air pollution in the locality.
COMMON MAN PAYS THE PRICE
- According to locals, despite a ban put into place, by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in August 2015, prohibiting use of hot mix plants, which are being operated without proper environmental protection, these plants continue to operate in Noida.
- With the authorities turning a blind eye to them, the common man is the once always paying the price.
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