Father of toddler who fell into gutter accuses BMC of negligence in search operation

Days after an 18-month old boy fell into a gutter in Ambedkar Nagar area of Goregaon, father of the victim Suraj Singh accused the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other forces of negligence in the search operation.

"We talked to the BMC officials today. They said a team of 40 NDRF personnel is conducting a search operation in the sewage creek but we didn't find anyone when we went there. A handful of BMC and Fire Department officials are conducting searching operations in Prem Nagar area, which has already be searched," said Singh.

The 18-month old boy had fallen into an open gutter at around 10:24 pm on Wednesday night.

"We demand the Mayor's resignation, installation of nets and a response from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis so that another child doesn't have to face the same fate," Singh said.

"Until a strict action is taken, these incidents will continue happening. On day one, locals had to go into the gutters themselves to search for the kid as barely a few officials were available for the rescue operation," said Shravan Tiwari, an RTI activist.

According to officials, rescue operations are underway to find the toddler. A CCTV footage of the incident was also found, in which the child could be seen walking alone on the road before falling in the open drainage system.