Gurugram: With a photo frame clutched tightly to her chest, Rama Singla let out a loud cry: “It was a matter of two minutes, and my grandson would have been saved.” At her home in BPTP Park Serene residential complex, the 62-year-old was consoled by a group of women patting her shoulders and wiping away their own tears.
“Don’t go easy on the management. It was their responsibility to take care of the child,” says one of the women in the group. Everyone nods in agreement.
Singla’s five-year-old grandson, Mevansh, was playing in the society’s swimming pool when he drowned on Wednesday evening. Singla had left him in the young children’s section of the pool to fetch coconut oil to rub on his body.
“When I came back, I was told my grandson had been rushed to the hospital after he fell unconscious in the pool. At the hospital, we were told that he was dead,” the grandmother said, her voice breaking.
The tragic incident in Gurugram has once again exposed serious safety lapses in high-rise buildings. Despite regulations, essential safety measures are often neglected, putting residents at risk. Poor oversight, including at swimming pools, inadequate training, and negligent management contribute to these dangers. All those factors were present in the child’s drowning case.
The five-year-old was not alone in the pool; there were two lifeguards present, but they were engrossed in their phones. CCTV footage from the society in Sector 37D revealed that the child, who didn’t know how to swim, had moved from the shallow children’s section (a foot and a half deep) to the deeper adult section (4 feet deep).
Other children in the section saw Mevansh struggling and screamed for help, but the lifeguards did not respond. It was only when one of the children ran out to inform someone that action was taken. By then, Mevansh was floating on the surface of the water. The guards hurried him to Signature Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. The lifeguards, Durg (30) from Madhya Pradesh and Akash (21), have been arrested following a complaint by the family.
Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav has initiated an inquiry into the matter.
Protests erupt
The condominium resonates with the slogan, “Kabul Chawla kaatil hai, BPTP haaye haaye.” Chawla is the chairman and managing director of BPTP Ltd. Leading the protest is RWA president Sandeep Sharma, who has given several interviews after the child’s death, accusing the society’s maintenance agency of negligence.
“We have asked the [BPTP’s] maintenance agency BPMS to install a fence so that children don’t access the deeper sections of the pool. We have also requested guards to ensure life jackets for children, but these measures have not been implemented,” alleged Sharma.
Sharma said residents have been paying Rs 1,000 to access the residential society’s clubhouse, which includes the swimming pool and gymnasium. However, additional facilities require extra payment.
Condominium pools are mandated to have a qualified manager, lifeguard, swimming instructor, and safety equipment such as first-aid kits, life jackets, rescue tubes, oxygen cylinders, stretchers, and blankets. The pool at BPTP Park Serene had none of these.
Residents and the society’s management had run-ins in the past as well. Sharma said that lifeguards often go on strike due to delays in payment. Several guards have allegedly left their jobs, and the replacements, Durg and Akash, “lacked experience” in handling such situations. They had no prior training on providing CPRs and other first-aid treatment.
“It’s like a ping-pong game. Residents religiously pay their maintenance fees. Where does the money go? Why aren’t the guards paid?” Sharma asked. He added that every two months, the RWA has to complain to the agency after the guards approach the association for delayed payments of their salaries.
As per the regulations, condominium pools are mandated to have a qualified pool manager, lifeguard, swimming instructor, along with safety equipment such as first-aid kits, life jackets, rescue tubes, oxygen cylinders, stretchers, and blankets.
The pool at BPTP Park Serene had none of these.
Until the relaxation in 2021, swimming pool owners were required to submit a compliance report to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM). In 2009, 50 pools, including in DLF, were shut for not following safety norms and operating without licenses. However, in December 2021, the district administration “simplified” the process of obtaining licences for running pools in residential societies, schools, hotels, and clubs, removing the requirement for a no-objection certificate (NOC) and allowing pool owners to “self-certify”. The only notable condition was that the administration could conduct surprise checks.
No such check was ever done at BPTP Serene Park, say the residents.
Last September, Sharma wrote a letter to the Department of Town and Country Planning, Haryana, demanding an Occupancy Certificate from the builder to ensure safety and hygiene compliance.
“There are safety concerns related to the club’s swimming pool. Lifeguards have often complained that poor lighting after sunset makes it difficult to see if a child drowns,” the letter, accessed by ThePrint, stated.
The society clubhouse now has a huge lock on its door, and residents hold candle marches every evening. They have filed complaints, met with the police commissioner, and are waiting for concrete action from the district administration.
“If you don’t pay the guards, why would they work professionally? It’s the maintenance agency that is responsible,” said a resident from J Block, who did not want to be named.
ThePrint reached out to BPTP’s maintenance agency vice president Dinesh Walia, but he did not respond to calls or messages.
Family’s tragic day
Wednesday wasn’t Mevansh’s pool day. His family only allowed him access to the pool on Sundays. The five-year-old did not know how to swim and usually played in the kids’ section, splashing water at friends. On Wednesday, after returning from school, Mevansh went downstairs, telling his grandmother he would play in the garden.
When Rama Singla came down to check, she found him in the kids’ section of the pool.
“I scolded him and asked him to come out. But he said that because he couldn’t play in the pool last Sunday, he wanted to make up for it today,” the grandmother said. She gave in to his demands and went to get coconut oil, which she used to rub on his body after the shower as the pool water would irritate his skin.
As Singla was leaving, she said she saw the lifeguards busy on their phones but didn’t imagine them to be so engrossed that they would fail to hear her grandson in need.
Mevansh’s grandfather, Sita Ram Singla, was walking in the garden with friends when he heard about a boy falling unconscious in the pool. He didn’t realise it was his grandson until he received a call from his wife, and they rushed to the hospital.
Six years ago, Mevansh’s father moved from their rented place in Sohna to a condominium in Gurugram with the second child on the way. Although it fell heavy on their pockets, the family decided to go ahead with it for the sake of their children.
“The idea was that the children would have space and safety,” said Mevansh’s uncle.
Mevansh had turned five on 6 July. His grandmother, who blames herself for leaving him alone at the pool, had bought him a walkie-talkie and a Spider-Man t-shirt for his birthday. His 10-year-old sister doesn’t know that her brother is gone. In her pink frock, she moves around the house, asking her grandparents when Mevansh will return from the hospital.
“A CPR… If the guards had performed CPR when they saw him floating and revived him with a breath, he might have survived,” said Meetu Singh, the child’s aunt.
“It’s in these times that you realise the value of one breath that could change your world,” she added, wiping her tears with her dupatta.
(Edited by Prashant)