The body of an eight-year-old who was swept away by floodwaters in Guwahati on July 4 was recovered from a drain on July 7.
Rescue workers recovered the body of Avinash Sarkar from a sewer in the city’s Rajgarh locality, more than a kilometre from where he was swept away. His body was identified by his parents at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital on July 7 morning.
Avinash Sarkar, the 8-year-old boy whose body was found on July 7, two days after he was swept away by floodwaters in Guwahati. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The boy had gone missing at about 11 p.m. on July 4 when he fell into a fast-flowing stormwater drain after his father, a motor mechanic, lost balance while trying to ascend a slushy incline on a two-wheeler. The boy was riding a pillion on the two-wheeler.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who visited the Sarkar family on July 6 to express solidarity and oversee the search operations, mourned the minor’s death.
“Deeply pained! With a heavy heart, we have learnt that the child’s body has been found. My deepest condolences go out to his parents and family during this unimaginable time,” he posted on X while lauding the rescue workers for relentlessly conducting the search operation.
SDRF and NDRF personnel with a sniffer dog conduct a search operation in the stormwater drain, at Jyoti Nagar in Guwahati on July 6, 2024. | Photo Credit: ANI
The Opposition Congress slammed the BJP-led government for “irresponsibility” after the boy went missing.
Condemning the incident as “maximum injustice”, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said it reflected the state of affairs in Guwahati, “a city hollowed and ravaged by the government-contractor nexus” where lives of the common people were “secondary to greed and lust for money”.
According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, 60 people died in floods and rain-induced landslides since May.
The floods have also claimed the lives of 125 animals in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. Among these animals were six rhinos and two hog deer that were run over by vehicles that moved above the speed limit of 40 km per hour.
Published - July 07, 2024 12:27 pm IST
