Boy falls into open drain in Gurugram villagers block road

    Gurugram, Aug 8 (PTI) An eight-year-old boy fell into an open drain while playing outside his house here and an operation is underway to trace him, police said on Monday.
    Residents of the boy's village, Gadoli Khurd, blocked the Gurugram-Pataudi road on Monday, demanding that efforts to find the boy be stepped up.
    The boy, Dishant, was playing outside his house on Sunday evening when he slipped and fell into the drain. He was swept away by strong currents. His family members and others tried to save him but in vain, the police said.
    After receiving information about the incident, police and a fire brigade team reached the spot and launched a search operation. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) divers are also searching for the boy but he hasn't been found yet, they said.
    Angry villagers sat on a dharna at the Gurugram-Pataudi road and refused to vacate it till the boy is found. As a result, traffic was diverted from Umang Bhardwaj Chowk, they said.
    Several officials, including Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Vishram Kumar Meena, reached the spot. The villagers surrounded Meena and demanded that efforts to trace Dishant be sped up and the drain be covered to prevent a repeat of Sunday's incident.
    "The search operation is underway. Trained private divers have been called from Delhi and we hope that the child will be found soon," Meena said.
    The work for fencing the drain has also started, he said.
    Villagers blamed the administration for the incident.
    "This is the result of negligence by the district administration and civic body officials," said a villager, Sunder Singh.
    He claimed the drain has been uncovered for the last 14 years.
    "Several requests were made to authorities to cover the drain but officials kept saying that the tender has been issued. If the drain had been covered properly, then this incident would not have happened," said Ram Singh, another villager. PTI COR DIV
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)