Mumbai: Toddler vanishes into open drain in Goregaon

The family was looking for Divyansh (left) and realised he had fallen into the gutter when they saw CCTV footage of the area

The family of a toddler, who is missing after falling into an open drain, and locals, have demanded action against Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials for negligence. They allege that the drain was kept open and has cost the boy his life.

Suraj Singh, his wife Sandhya, and their three kids Sonali, Siddhant and Divyansh stay in a chawl near Ambedkar chowk in Goregaon East. On Wednesday at around 10 pm, the family realised that their one and half-year-old son, Divyansh, was missing.

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The boy's father Suraj and locals protested when they felt the search was not being conducted properly

CCTV reveals tragic incident

"We started looking for him and thought that he might have been kidnapped. To clarify our doubt, we decided to check the CCTV footage from a camera installed on the road facing our lane. It is only then that we came to know he had fallen into the open drain," said Sandeep Singh, Divyansh's uncle. At around 10.17 pm the Forest Department received a call informing them about the incident and by 10.27 pm the search for the boy began.

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Search and rescue operation on

According to a Forest Department official, "A search and rescue operation was carried out along with the civic drainage department. Due to the water current there is a possibility that the boy was pulled into the main drain line. A search was done in a 10 km stretch of the drainage line and a wall was also broken. The search operation is still on."

Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar at the spot where the boy fell. Pic/Satej Shinde

More than 200 people carried out the search operation and on Thursday afternoon the father of the boy and local residents tried to block the road in protest, as they felt that the efforts were not up to the mark.On Thursday evening Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar visited the spot and assured action against those responsible. On Thursday afternoon, the fire brigade used a JCB and bulldozer to break the footpath on a 200 to 300 metres stretch on the gutter, to see if the body was stuck somewhere.

'BMC's negligence'

"The portion of the storm water drainage has been open for two to three years and this is negligence on the part of the BMC, as because of it a child has lost his life. The officials and the contractor who did the work should be held responsible," said Poonam Kanojia, a neighbour of the Singhs.

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