Kolkata, May 26 (IANS) The state government has provided financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the family of a child who died after a light from a lamp post fell on her in Hastings area of central Kolkata, said government officials on Tuesday.

On the instructions of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Maniktala BJP MLA Tapas Roy handed over a cheque of Rs 4 lakh to the deceased’s father S.K. Feroz on Monday night. Behala Paschim MLA Indranil Khan and police officials were present there.

The six-year-old child named Gudiya Khatun lived with her family under a flyover in Hastings area. There is a ‘high mast’ lamp post adjacent to the flyover. It is learnt that a light from that lamp post fell and hit the child on her head as she was playing under it.

The six-year-old child was seriously injured due to the impact on Monday and later, when she was taken to SSKM Hospital, the doctor declared her brought dead.

The family and locals alleged negligence in the maintenance of the street lights.

According to the police, the girl child was playing under the lamp post like every other day. At that moment, a lamp fell on the head of the child from above. She was seriously injured in the incident and she fell to the ground with blood flowing from her head.

The family of the little girl has alleged negligence in maintenance of the lamp posts. The family claimed that the light that fell on the road had three nut holes and only one nut was attached to it. The locals have also raised questions about whether the lamp post was maintained at all.

Officers of the local police station reached the incident site and the place has been surrounded with barricades. The police are investigating the entire incident.

It may be noted that a large number of people live near the incident site in Hastings area. There are also some shanties nearby. Locals from such shanties often spend their time on the footpaths. Children from these families often play in the streets which poses the risk of accidents.

–IANS

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