Failure to locate missing Deepak exposes Patna Municipal Corporation’s inadequacy in drain upkeep

Admitting that the PMC did not have physical map of many old drains, a superintending engineer of the PMC expressed apprehension that it might get even more difficult for the rescue team to carry out such an operation in Boring Canal Road—an underground drain supposed to have been built in the early fifties.

The ongoing search operation for a 10-year-old boy, who fell into the drainage well at SK Puri Patna on last Saturday and has been missing since then, has exposed the Patna Municipal Corporation’s inability to undertake proper management and maintenance of the capital’s drainage network. A part of the drainage system here had been built during the pre-Independence era. The PMC officials have little understanding of the drainage network here.

Dummy of 10-year-old Deepak body used in search operation by NDRF team in Patna (HT File Photo)

In the absence of a route map of the underground drain that connects Mohanpur sump house with Anand Puri drain, the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials had to look for a retired engineer, who had some knowledge about the gutter reportedly built some 60 years back.

“We don’t have definite information about when the drain, in which the boy fell and went missing, had been built. However, we have managed to draw a map of the drain with help from retired engineers to help the teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) engaged in rescue operation since Saturday evening,” said a deputy municipal commissioner.

Admitting that the PMC did not have physical map of many old drains, a superintending engineer of the PMC expressed apprehension that it might get even more difficult for the rescue team to carry out such an operation in Boring Canal Road—an underground drain supposed to have been built in the early fifties.

Some retired corporation officials blamed the crises on unplanned development of drainage network, which at times also led to the discovery of old drains built during the pre-Independence era. “The PMC has recently started de-siltation of Nala Road underground drain, which, too, appears not to have been cleaned since it was constructed,” they said.

In 2013, the PMC managed to trace the route of old Serpentine nullah and removed the accumulated silt from its underground portion for the first time by dismantling concrete structures that had cropped up on it over the years. “A few old and abandoned underground drains were traced by the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) in Kankarbagh locality while digging channel for new drainage network about seven-eight years back. The drive to develop a new drain network in Kankarbagh actually resulted in gobbling up of a huge chunk of main road and contributed to further encroachment,” said Shilbhadra Harshvardhan Bhardwaj, an agriculture scientist.

PMC commissioner Anupam Kumar Suman could not be reached for his comments despite several phone calls by the HT reporter. Urban development minister Suresh Kumar Sharma, however, said he had asked PMC officials to get the map of both old and new drains ready within a month.

“Old drains would be renovated under the smart city plan, making it easy to carry out de-siltation work. We have learnt a lesson from the SK Puri disaster. High pressure drains would be closed to avoid recurrence of such mishaps,” he added.

I have asked PMC officials to get map of old and new drains ready within a month. Old drains will be renovated under smart city plan, making it easy to carry out de-siltation work, said Suresh Kumar Sharma, urban development minister