Four days on, search for Anantaiah continues

Hyderabad: After 60 hours, GHMC officials have not been able to recover the body of Navalli Anantaiah, who was washed away after getting into the 10-foot-deep manhole to clean storm water drain at BN Reddy Colony in LB Nagar.

Officials claimed that over 400 workers were deployed for two days and searched at about 260 manholes from BN Reddy to Pasumamula via Nagole Kuntluru and Pillaipalli. Officials said their efforts went in vain even after using a rod threading machine.

However, the field staff said they had received little help. They said the higher authorities did not even provide diesel for the vehicles which were supposed to dig the drains. The rescue operations were halted for three hours due to this.

GHMC commissioner D.S. Lokesh Kumar issued a circular to the staff asking them not to suspend or issue memos to the officials who were supposed to monitor the works. City mayor Gadwal R. Vijayalakshmi has neither visited the spot nor announced ex gratia for Anantaiah’s family.

However, LB Nagar zonal commissioner R. Upender Reddy said over 300 people including 35 engineers and 60 entomology workers had taken part in the search operations for the past 48 hours. He said the rescue teams used three boats, and a drone apart from rod threading machines but could not find Anantaiah. Upender Reddy said the corporation after discussing with the police would take a final call either to continue the operations or give up.

Deputy commissioner A. Maruthi Diwakar blamed the contractor for carrying out the work at night. Diwakar said that rescue operations were going on at brisk pace with about 400 members including five deputy commissioners and executive engineers in LB Nagar zone monitoring them. He said that the team had slept hardly for two hours in the last 48 hours and no official moved from the spot.

When DC visited the locations where rescue operations were carried out, it was noticed that no official was seen from 1 pm to 3 pm. About the same, Diwakar said the operations were not halted due to lunch hour, but rescue vehicles ran out of diesel.

Reacting to the delay in the operations, AICC national spokesperson Dr Sravan Dasoju said this incident was an example of the sorry state of affairs in the state. He said neither mayor Vijayalakshmi nor GHMC commissioner Lokesh Kumar had concern for the Dalit worker who lost his life or the one who is still missing. He said it was pathetic on the part of the government for not announcing ex gratia to Dalit families despite Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao launching the Dalit Bandhu scheme.

The Congress leader demanded `1 crore ex gratia to the victims’ families and permanent employment to Gowri, wife of Butla Shiva who is dead, and Nagaraju, son of Ananthaiah.

Former BJP MLC and city unit president N Ramchander Rao said the deaths occurred due to the negligence of the government. He said despite the Opposition and city residents making a huge hue and cry about the bad sewerage network, neither the government nor the GHMC took a serious note of it.

"Had the government woken up earlier, such incidents could not have happened. Due to the negligence of the government two lives have been lost. I demand the government to immediately declare the ex-gratia and provide employment to the family members of the deceased,” he added.

Despite making several attempts to reach city mayor Vijayalakshmi and commissioner Lokesh Kumar, they were unavailable for comment.