The search for a child who fell into a deep drainage line near Pipalaj on Ahmedabad’s Narol-Vishala Highway has continued for about two days, with fire brigade and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation teams examining connected sewer lines, main holes and outlets leading towards the Sabarmati river.
The child, identified in the report as Manisha Salat, fell into the main drainage line at around 3 pm on Saturday. The fire department began searching the area that evening, but responders faced difficulties because the line is deep and contains high levels of gas.
Teams are now examining the drainage network from the river outlet to multiple locations. The line is described as a main trunk route connected through an STP before reaching the river. Officials are also investigating whether the child may have entered another connected line branching from the trunk system.
Dinesh Gurve, deputy municipal commissioner of Ahmedabad’s South Zone, said the fire brigade, zonal officials and the drainage project team were carrying out continuous operations. He said teams had been working around the clock at different locations and had obtained project drawings to understand the network’s layout.
According to Gurve, CCTV equipment was being inserted into main holes and major lines at different points based on two drainage drawings. The corporation’s drainage project and engineering teams have been working alongside the fire brigade to trace the route and inspect sections of the system.
The search has included efforts to clean parts of the drainage line so that teams can inspect the network more effectively. The high gas concentration has made it difficult for fire personnel to enter the line directly, increasing the reliance on CCTV equipment and searches from access points.
Officials are examining two principal possibilities. One is that the child may have travelled through the main drainage line towards the STP and the river outlet. The other is that the child may have entered a connected line branching from the main trunk route. Main holes at separate locations are being opened and checked as part of the operation.
The report said no trace of the child had been found by the time of publication and that the possibility of finding her alive was being viewed as remote. This assessment was presented in the report as part of the ongoing search situation; the authorities’ operation to locate her was continuing.
The incident has also highlighted the operational complexity of urban drainage networks, where underground lines may connect roads, treatment facilities and river outlets across distances that are difficult to establish quickly without updated drawings and access points. The municipal teams are continuing the search across the connected drainage system.
