Day 4 of search: Divers enter covered stretch of canal, boy still missing

Gurugram: Search operations to locate an eight-year-old boy continued on Wednesday, more than 72 hours after the child fell in a canal at Gadoli village near Umang Bhardwaj Chowk in Sector 37D

Gurugram: Search operations to locate an eight-year-old boy continued on Wednesday, more than 72 hours after the child fell in a canal at Gadoli village near Umang Bhardwaj Chowk in Sector 37D. The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) used two drones for surveillance and deployed high-power exhaust fans to flush out toxic gases from the covered stretch of the canal to aid search operations.

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Dishant Ladot was playing with other children on a road in front of his house along the canal when the incident took place at 4pm on Sunday. The water level in the canal was high due to heavy rain in Gurugram and neighbouring areas that took place earlier in the morning.

A 20-member team of the GMDA, police, fire, and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) involved in the search operation used two drones for open area surveillance. According to Vikram Singh, executive engineer, GMDA, the drones were used to check inside the box drains to ensure of the boy was stuck in any of them.

“We have used JCBs and tractors to open manholes to locate the boy and our teams are coordinating with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team. The search operation extends downstream till Najafgarh in the open drain. The chances of the boy’s survival are slim. The teams tried to enter the covered stretch but could only move for 100-200 metres due to the build-up of toxic gases. Several manhole lids on the covered stretch were removed to expel the gases. Also, poor visibility due to dirty water made the operation more challenging,” he said.

Singh also informed that divers were able to go inside the covered stretch after high-power exhaust fans were used to flush out poisonous gases. “A GMDA team led by an SDO has been deputed to cater to equipment needs of the rescue workers and divers. The drain is 26.4-km long, of which a 6km area, where the incident took place, is not covered. Industrial effluents across the city is dumped into the canal, which flows into Badshahpur Drain and eventually to Najafgarh,” he said. According to officials, 26.4km of the canal known as Najafgarh Drain comes under the Gurugram district.

Nishant Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, said that the search operation has begun in the open drain towards Najafgarh. “The teams suspect that the boy must have been carried further ahead by strong currents and all possible locations are being searched,” he said.

Kumar said divers from the police, fire department, India Reserve Battalion, Bhondsi, and GMDA have been roped in for the search operation. “Even divers from Rohtak, Karnal, Kurukshetra, and Yamunanagar were engaged in searching the boy in the drain up to Najafgarh. At least four inflatable motors were engaged,” he said.

Family members, relatives, and villagers are still sitting at the, hoping the boy will be located soon. “We are still hopeful as we have not seen the body. Miracles do happen and we are waiting for one such miracle to happen with us,” said Jyoti, Dishant’s mother.