Hockey World Cup: South Korea Photo journalist falls into open drain in Bhubaneswar

At a time when the Odisha government spent crores of rupees for a complete makeover of Bhubaneswar ahead of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup, the lack of basic common sense was exposed after a photo journalist was injured after falling into an open drain in the capital city on Wednesday.

As per initial reports, the photo journalist, who is now in Bhubaneswar, to cover the Hockey World Cup fell into the open drain while having a cup of tea at a roadside stall at Dumduma area.

Following the incident, the photo journalist was immediately rushed to a hospital for treatment. It is pertinent to mention here that the Odisha Government, Bhubaneswar Muncipal Corporation (BMC) and other concerned government agencies did not leave any stone unturned to give Bhubaneswar entirely a different and new look ahead of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup.

Scores of street vendors were evicted, roads were repaired, massive beautification and electrification works were also undertaken at a war footing. But the incident of a photo journalist from South Korea getting injured after falling into an open drain is certainly a matter of concern as there have been similar freak mishaps in the past.

Earlier, a school student had died reportedly after falling into an open drain in Bhubaneswar last year.

It seems that neither BMC or other related agencies have taken concrete measures to plug such loopholes and prevent mishaps that can even cost anybody’s life.

(Reported by Niranjan Reddy)