10-year-old boy missing after falling into Patna drain, rescue operation on

The boy, Dipak, was returning home at Mohanpur locality with his friend after handing over the lunch box to his father Guddu, who runs a fruit shop on Boring Canal Road, when he slipped into the drain at SK Puri at about 1.30 pm.

A rescue operation was underway on Saturday evening to save a 10-year-old boy who accidentally fell into an open drain in Patna earlier in the day.

Rescue operation underway, in Patna on Saturday (Santosh Kumar/ HT Photos)

The boy, Dipak, was returning home at Mohanpur locality with his friend after handing over the lunch box to his father Guddu, who runs a fruit shop on Boring Canal Road, when he slipped into the drain at SK Puri at about 1.30 pm.

His friend immediately alerted the nearby people, who sought to inform Patna municipal corporation (PMC) commissioner Anupam Kumar Suman about the incident over his cell phone. When the calls went unanswered despite many attempts, the locals informed Patna district magistrate Kumar Ravi and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) authorities before launching their own operation to save the child. They had to return disappointed as the child had disappeared due to the strong current of waste water inside the drain.

Locals alleged that PMC officials reached the spot a couple of hours after the Patna DM was informed about the incident. They claimed that many animals often fell into the drain, but the PMC authorities had not closed it despite repeated petitions. “Some of them are rescued, while others left to die,” they said.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the rescue operation began only when SDRF and NDRF teams arrived on the spot, about three-and-half hours after the incident. “SDRF personnel reached the spot first at around 4.30 pm. But, they too had to wait for many hours to launch the intense operation for want of necessary resources, like oxygen mask and cylinders. The NDRF team arrived an hour later,” they said.

While PMC commissioner Suman could not be reached for his comments, SDRF second-in-command AK Jha said the rescue team was yet to trace the boy despite venturing about 300 metres inside the drain. “We have all the warewithal for this sort of operation. The rescue team is still trying to locate the boy,” said Jha.

Many residents of Mohanpur usually take the shortcut through the drain to reach Boring Road, as it reduces the distance by about 2 km. Normal route from Mohanpur to Boring Road crossing is about 4 km.

Locals alleged that the PMC was hardly bothered by incidents caused by open drains and uncovered manholes. Most of the manholes in the SK Puri and Boring Canal localities were not covered despite the high court’s reprimand, they said.

A senior official of the PMC admitted that about 15-20% manholes in the capital city were yet to be covered. “We have asked for money, but the process has stuck up owing to fund crunch,” he said.

people alleged that the PMC was hardly bothered about the incidents caused by open drains and uncovered manholes and said that most of the manholes in the SK Puri and Boring canal localities were not covered despite the high court’s reprimand.

A senior official of the PMC admitted that about 15-20% manholes in the capital city were yet to be covered. “We have asked for fund, but the process has stuck up owing to fund crunch,” he said.