Ahmedabad: A family’s search for their nine-year-old blind daughter has entered the sixth day after she allegedly fell into a 20-foot-deep open drain on Pirana-iplaj Road. The girl’s parents have returned to the spot every day as fire brigade teams have inspected connected drainage lines, but the heavy accumulation of garbage and silt has slowed the operation.The incident occurred near Eric Packaging Company, within the Lambha ward and Narol police station limits.According to local sources, the girl, Manisha Salat, was travelling with her parents and two siblings on Saturday afternoon. The family got off the autorickshaw around 3pm.Her mother, Paru Salat, was holding Manisha’s hand while the girl’s father was with the other two children. When the mother let go of Manisha’s hand to pay the autorickshaw driver, the child allegedly stepped backwards and fell into the open drain.The family raised an alarm and informed the police and fire brigade. Fire brigade personnel reached the spot between 4pm and 4.30pm and began searching the drain and nearby lines.As of 4pm on Oct 15, the girl had not been traced.Sources said the drain was around 20 feet deep but had accumulated five to seven feet of garbage and silt, making the search difficult. The drain is connected to several other lines, which fire brigade personnel have also inspected.Sources said there was still a possibility that the child could be found at the same location because of the heavy silt accumulation.Sources added: “National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is currently constructing an elevated corridor on the Sarkhej-Narol Highway. During this work, drain covers have been broken or altered by NHAI without informing Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation or placing proper barricades. Demand is now growing for police complaints to be registered against responsible AMC and NHAI officials once the girl is found.”Standing committee chairman Kamlesh Patel said, “To ensure no effort is spared, we issued instructions today to inspect the entire drain network — from the site to the pumping station and up to the Sabarmati — using cameras to uncover any leads.”
