Ahmedabad: A blind girl, 9, fell into a 20-foot-deep open sewer on Pirana-Piplaj Road on Saturday between 3pm and 3.30pm. Search operations by the fire brigade began at 4pm, but till late on Saturday, the girl had yet to be extricated from the sewer.Municipal corporation officials reached the scene only hours after the girl had tumbled into the sewer. AMC could not give the fire brigade clear information on which main trunk line the sewer connects to. The civic body lacks drainage network maps.According to local sources, on Saturday, a couple along with their three children alighted from an autorickshaw. The 9-year-old held her mother’s hand, while the other two children held their father’s.When the mother momentarily let go of the girl’s hand to pay the autorickshaw fare, the 9-year-old fell into the sewer, which was directly behind her. Hearing the family’s cries for help, locals tried to rescue the girl. Police and the fire brigade were notified.The horror of her daughter’s disappearance made the woman faint. Fire personnel inspected the drainage line up to 1km without success. It is believed that the line connects further downstream to a mega pipeline. Furthermore, due to a chemical odour emanating from the drainage line, it is suspected that industrial effluents are being discharged into it.But an AMC official said, “National Highways Authority of India is currently constructing an elevated corridor on the Sarkhej-Narol Highway. During such projects, NHAI breaks sewer lids or alters their levels without notifying AMC.” The official said the entire drainage line is being inspected.Mayor Hitesh Barot met with the victim’s family on the scene.Complaints about uncovered manholes, broken sewer lids, and open stormwater catchpits are frequently reported across the city. However, to date, no strict action has been taken against any AMC official after cases of citizens falling into open sewers.
