Bhubaneswar: A 35-year-old man went missing on Saturday after being swept away in an open drain at Vani Vihar amid heavy downpours in Odisha capital.
The missing man has been identified as Anil Singh, a ragpicker residing in nearby Patharabanda slum.
According to eyewitnesses, the mishap occurred when Singh was walking alongside the drainage channel, which had swelled with torrential rain lashing the city since early morning. He reportedly lost his balance, slipped, and was instantly pulled into the gushing waters.
The particular stretch of the drain was left uncovered due to ongoing construction work for a park project.
Upon receiving information from locals, who witnessed the incident, a team from Mancheswar Fire Services department, along with local police, rushed to the spot to launch a search and rescue operation along the stretch of the drain. However, the fast-flowing water has made the rescue operation challenging.
Meanwhile, Bhubaneswar Mayor Sulochana Das reached the spot and enquired about the incident.
Speaking to the media, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Chanchal Rana said that the site of the mishap is a maintenance-only zone lined with stone packing, making it highly inaccessible to the general public. He noted that it takes a minimum of 25 minutes to even reach the location on foo.
“During the course of the investigation, we will ascertain how the individual managed to reach this spot,” Rana said, adding that fire services teams are working relentlessly to trace the man.
Recurring Peril During Monsoons
This incident comes as Bhubaneswar and other parts of Odisha experience a fresh spell of heavy to very heavy rainfall under the influence of a well-marked low pressure area over Bay of Bengal, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing red, orange and yellow warnings till July 7. The downpour has already led to waterlogging and traffic snarls across the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Open and inadequately maintained drains have repeatedly turned into death traps in the capital during rainy seasons. In past years, several people, including children and teenagers, have gone missing or lost their lives after falling into similar stormwater channels amid flash flooding.
