Bangalore:
Monsoon in Bangalore can be every citizen's nightmare. Flooding of houses, traffic snarls and overflowing drains that have claimed many a life in recent years. But the loss of a little boy, ten days ago in these drains has shocked the city and jolted the administration.
The Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike launched a search through the city's storm water drains, but when that has proved futile, the Army has been called in for the final stretch. It's the final search for little Abhishek's body.
Six-year-old Abhishek slipped from his mother Bharathi's hands, into this drain on the night of May 31.
"I cant get that scene out of my head... even now, if I close my eyes, all I can see is his head going up and down in the water. By the time I closed and opened my eyes, I had lost my Abhi," recalls Bharathi Prakash, Abhishek's mother.
Facing flak, the Bangalore city corporation launched an extensive search for Abhishek's body, desilting many drains in the process. But when the body did not surface, the Army was called in to clean up the last mile where the city's sewage passes out.
"You can see the water hyacinth growth which over the years has become so heavy, there is household waste, debris... the MEG is doing its best," said Captain Venkatesh, Civil Defence Guard.
"I feel sorry for the Army people. But why are they cleaning up here? They should have searched there only more carefully. There is a 100-metre stretch near the drain where Abhishek fell down where nobody has gone," said Mahendra, a resident.
Even as more than 60 Army men work their way through the unbearable stench for a final try, one thing is clear: if it wasn't for civic negligence, Abhishek might have been alive today.