New Delhi: A 15-year-old boy fell into an open drain while chasing a kite in southeast Delhi’s Jasola Saturday, triggering a multi-agency search to trace him. Till early Sunday evening, the search had proved to be unfruitful.TOI asked several agencies who was in charge of the drain’s upkeep. DJB denied having the drain under its jurisdiction. A DJB official said, “The Kachha Nallah, which carries treated effluent from Okhla STP, has been handed over to MCD. The drain is not maintained by Delhi Jal Board.”TOI reached out to Delhi govt’s flood and irrigation department, which also denied having the drain under it. TOI asked MCD, which said the irrigation and flood control department is tasked with maintaning the drain.The teenager, Mithun, is a Class VIII student in a govt school and lives in Jasola. Teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), police, Delhi Fire Service, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Boat Club were looking for him early evening.The boy fell into the open drain around 11 am Saturday. His family raised the alarm after they realised he was missing and alerted the authorities. The fire service got information about the boy at 11.54 am, while the Sarita Vihar police station was informed at 12.04 pm. Two fire tenders were sent to the spot.Police said the search was complicated because of the fast flow of water in the drain.Mithun’s father, Awadhesh Kumar, told reporters the drain was completely open and expressed hope that the rescue teams would be able to locate his son. Mithun’s elder brother, Joginder, added: “My sister-in-law saw him tumble into the water. She jumped in to save him but he had gone too far by then. I then went ahead and checked everywhere but could not find him.”The NDRF team was called in by the evening. The search was called off late Saturday night as darkness made it difficult for rescuers to continue the work. It resumed Sunday morning.
