Delhi: NDRF search on for teen swept away in open Jasola drain; family flags lack of safety covers

New Delhi : The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Sunday launched a search and rescue operation after a 15-year-old boy was swept away in an open drain in the Jasola area of the national capital.
Recounting the heartbreaking incident to News Agency, the victim’s father, Avadhesh Kumar, said, “We have been living in this colony for about five to six years. Yesterday around 11:00 AM, our boy fell here. He is around 14 to 15 years old, and he studies in the 8th standard at the local government school. I don’t know how he fell or how it happened because I was at work, and he hasn’t been found.
Lashing out at the lack of basic safety measures, the aggrieved father pointed out, “The drain is completely open, completely uncovered. It is about 5 to 6 feet deep, and the water flow is very strong. Our child would definitely be with us if there were proper safety measures here.”
Speaking about the search and rescue operation, the father added, “Around 12:00 or 12:30, the police arrived. Then all teams came. The NDRF team came, and divers came too. But sir, nobody actually stepped inside [the drain] to search. Even after all that, no effective action was taken. If they had done it properly, at least our child’s body would have been recovered. What more can I even say now.”
“Just find my boy’s body, that’s all. We don’t want anything else from the administration,” Kumar pleaded.