Forty eight hours on, Abhishek untraced

The six-year-old was washed away on Sunday night

The search for the body of Abhishek, a six-year-old boy who fell into a drain on Sunday night turned unfruitful on Tuesday as well. Fire fighters along with sanitary workers are continuing the search, even 48 hours after the tragedy.

Men and machines of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and the Fire Department spared no efforts in the search. They dug the culvert on the main drain on the Lokesh Tent Road, but could not find the body. The search team then went to dig out another culvert. “We are trying our best to trace the body. We fear the body might have reached Nagavara lake. However, the search operation will not be halted until the body is traced,” said the BBMP Joint Commissioner (East Zone) S Puttaswamy. He added that the boy was swept away in seconds as there was huge flow of water in the drains owing to heavy rains on Sunday. The BBMP has paid an immediate compensation of Rs one lakh to the family of the deceased. This incident has come as a wake up call for the BBMP, as two have already fallen victims even as moonsoon is yet to set in in full form. Puttaswamy said that instructions have been given to the sanitary workers to discharge their duties diligently and cover the manholes and stormwater drains properly.