Chasing a Kite Cost Him His Life: Delhi’s Open Drain Claims 15-Year-Old After 75-Hour Search

New Delhi: For 75 hours, a father sat beside a stinking open drain in Jasola, sifting through garbage with his bare hands – hoping to find his 15-year-old son alive. On Tuesday, his hope ended.

Mithun, a Class 8 student, fell into an uncovered drain on Saturday morning while chasing a kite. His body was found 500 meters downstream, trapped in garbage near Shaheen Bagh Metro station.

A Father’s Desperate Wait

Mithun’s father Avadesh Kumar, who cleans sewers for a living, said he was ready to jump into the drain himself even though he can’t swim.

A video of Kumar digging through waste with bare hands went viral, after which rescue efforts were intensified.

“I was ready to go in. 8-10 of us were ready. But police stopped us, saying it’s risky. They even used force to disperse us. My son could have been found earlier,” Kumar alleged.

The family and locals also protested on Sunday alleging delayed action.

Police claimed rescue was challenging due to rapid water flow, sludge, and lack of access for earthmovers.

NDRF joined the operation at 4 pm on Saturday. The search continued for 3 days, except at night.

Another Civic Failure

This is not the first such death in Delhi this year, exposing the capital’s broken infrastructure.

On Monday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta suspended a junior engineer of MCD and announced Rs 5 lakh aid for Mithun’s family.

Mithun, who wanted to become a computer science engineer, lived with his parents and three siblings (aged 8, 12, 17) in a single-room rented house in Jasola village. The family is from Badaun, UP.

“The night before he drowned, he brought two packets of chips and forced me to eat one,” his mother recalled.

The Killer Drain

The incident happened around 11 am on Saturday when his parents were at work. A 5-year-old boy saw him fall and alerted neighbours.

Locals say two open drains flow through Jasola village – both without boundary walls or grills.

“Authorities wake up only after someone dies. People have drowned here before,” said resident Mohammad Riyaz.

While NGT says drains are not covered to allow cleaning and release of toxic gases, there are no clear rules for barricading or installing grills to prevent such tragedies.