A 10-year-old visually impaired girl was reported missing after she apparently fell into an uncovered drain near Cozy Hotel in Ahmedabad’s Narol area, according to a report by Sandesh. The report said that rescue teams reached the site several hours after the incident, while the child had not been located until late at night.
The incident reportedly occurred at about 3 pm on Saturday after the girl and her mother got down from an autorickshaw. While the mother was paying the driver, the child became separated from her. People at the location later raised the possibility that she had fallen into an uncovered drain nearby.
Sandesh reported that the drain was approximately 20 feet deep and carried water along with a chemical pipeline. The report said a call was made to the emergency number 112, following which the fire department was informed and a rescue operation was initiated.
According to the report, fire department officials and personnel reached the site at about 5.30 pm, roughly two-and-a-half hours after the girl was reported missing. An additional city engineer was reported to have reached the location at about 6 pm. The report said that search operations continued into the night without the girl being traced.
The account has not established whether the child drowned, remains missing or was subsequently found. It also contains conflicting references to her age, describing her as both 10 and nine years old. These details require confirmation from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, the fire department and the police before the incident can be reported as a confirmed drowning or death.
The report further said that municipal officials attributed responsibility for the road-development conditions to the National Highways Authority of India. It did not provide an official statement from the authority, nor did it establish which agency was responsible for securing or maintaining the specific drain cover.
The incident places attention on a basic municipal safety function: keeping open drains and other hazardous utility infrastructure secured, particularly in areas used by pedestrians. The immediate facts that remain to be confirmed are the child’s status, the exact response timeline, the ownership and maintenance responsibility for the drain, and whether any official action has been ordered.
