Mother, 6-month-old son die after bike hits protruding manhole

Bathinda: A woman died on Sunday, a day after her six-month-old son was killed when they fell from a bike that lost control after hitting a raised manhole cover in Moga.Lakhbir Singh, a resident of Chand Nawa village, was travelling to Moga on a motorcycle with his wife and infant son on Saturday when the two-wheeler reportedly lost control at a sewerage hump near Vishwakarma Chowk on the Moga-Kotkapura bypass, causing all three to fall onto the road.When taken to Moga Civil Hospital, the infant was declared dead and 28-year-old Jyoti was referred to a hospital in Ludhiana where she succumbed to her injuries on Sunday.Rahul, a relative of the bereaved family and a resident of Moga, said local shopkeepers and business owners near Vishwakarma Chowk had repeatedly urged authorities to level the road by bringing the sewerage manhole cover in line with the road surface. However, he alleged that the complaints were not acted upon.According to him, the manhole cover protruded above the road level and had caused minor accidents in the past, though none had resulted in serious injuries. He described Saturday's incident as the first major mishap at the spot.Following the tragedy, Moga deputy commissioner Sagar Setia constituted a committee headed by the municipal corporation commissioner. The committee includes the executive engineers of the PWD (B&R) and water supply and sewerage board, along with the DSP, Moga."The committee has been directed to ascertain the cause of the incident and submit its report at the earliest so that such accidents do not recur," Setia said.MSID:: 131423114 413 |