2-Yr-Old's Body Found in Sewer After 24 Hours, Sparks Outrage

A tragic incident occurred on Wednesday evening when a two-year-old boy fell into an open sewer near Radhika Point on Amroli-Variyav Road in Surat. Despite a 24-hour-long rescue operation by the fire department and NDRF teams, the child’s body was recovered on Thursday evening from the Variyav pumping station. The incident has triggered anger among locals, who are blaming the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) for negligence.

 

The victim, identified as Kedar Sharadbhai Vegad, was out with his mother, Vaishaliben Vegad, in the bustling Wednesday market when he slipped into the uncovered drain while running towards an ice cream cart.

 

 

Fire department personnel and local residents immediately launched a rescue operation. However, strong water currents carried the child further into the drainage system, making recovery difficult. Protesters gathered on Thursday morning, raising slogans against the municipal corporation for its lack of safety measures.

 

Authorities deployed around 60–70 rescue personnel, including teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), who searched the sewer system wearing breathing suits. However, illegal drainage connections and excessive water flow in the mainline delayed the search operation. Eventually, the child's lifeless body was found at the Variyav pumping station after 24 hours and was he declared dead at the hospital.

 

The child's grieving grandfather broke down, pleading, "Give us back our Kedar. He had just celebrated his birthday three days ago."

 

Surat’s Chief Fire Officer, Vasant Parekh, confirmed that the sewer's manhole cover had broken due to heavy vehicles passing over it, leading to the accident.

 

Shockingly, despite the gravity of the situation, Surat Mayor Dakshesh Mavani did not visit the site. Locals reported that when contacted, he responded that he was "away" and would send a team. It was later revealed that he was busy playing in the Mayor's Cup Cricket Tournament in Gandhinagar.

 

This revelation further fueled public anger, as sources claimed that top municipal officials had been engaged in cricket practice for the past 10-15 days, neglecting administrative duties.

 

The incident has once again highlighted the issue of poor civic infrastructure and negligence in ensuring public safety in Surat.