“Humne umeed chhodh di hai ab (We have given up hope now),” said Rajesh Ladot, as officials continued to look for the body of his eight-year-old son, Dishant Ladot, who allegedly drowned in a drain while playing outside his house in Gadoli Khurd village in Gurgaon’s Sector 37D three days ago. Rajesh said his wife has not been able to eat since then.
“My daughters repeatedly ask ‘Le aaye bhai ko’ (Have you brought our brother back). I do not know what to tell them. It’s the third day. Ab chance nahi hai (There is no chance now). Initially, we had hoped that he may have held on to a rock or an edge and would be saved by a diver,” said Rajesh, a driver who also does daily-wage work.
“We just want to see our child one last time. We hope authorities locate his body soon. Bas body dhoond kar saup do humein (Just locate the body and hand it over to us),” he said, his voice breaking.
The boy’s body is yet to be recovered as teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, fire department and civic agencies continued rescue efforts.
“The water level in the drain was high due to rain earlier that day. Since the drain is uncovered, water comes to our doorstep when it rains. My sister-in-law heard cries of people that Dishant was drowning. She, an aunt and some neighbours ran outside, but it was too late… he was struggling to remain afloat and was swept away in front of us. The incident took place due to the negligence of authorities. If they had covered the drain, this would not have occurred,” alleged the boy’s uncle, Sunder Ladot.
