HYDERABAD, March 27: A four-year old boy drowned in a drain after falling into an open manhole near a marriage hall here on Saturday night.

The body of Shakeel, son of Yasin Memon, was recovered from the manhole after 12 hours on Sunday. Shakeel had gone to a marriage ceremony in Qasimabad along with his family from Hussainabad.

Many incidents of this nature have been reported in different parts of Hyderabad.

Elected representatives have been raising hue and cry on the issue but to no avail.

The matter has also been brought into the notice of the adviser to the chief minister on local bodies, Waseem Akhtar, and has been discussed by the district council but no steps have been taken to cover the manholes.

Water and Sanitation Agency sources said of around 3,500 manholes in the city, 300 to 350 were without covers.

The district government has not announced any compensation to families of children drowned in manholes.