HYDERABAD: A 70-year-old man was swept away after reportedly falling into an open drain near the Vaishali Nagar underpass in Miyapur on Tuesday night amid heavy rainfall at a site where stormwater drain repair works were in progress.
The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), along with the police and civic authorities, launched an intensive search operation to trace the missing man. The search was continuing till the last report came in.
According to police, the missing man was identified as Balaiah, a resident of Prem Nagar in Hafeezpet. Preliminary investigations revealed that the Vaishali Nagar underpass had been closed for the past few days to facilitate nala repair works.
During the ongoing repairs, Balaiah reportedly fell into the open drain and was swept away by the strong rainwater flow.
Family members of the missing man accused the authorities of negligence, saying the repair works should have been completed during the summer to minimise risks during the monsoon. They demanded stringent action against those responsible.
However, the police maintained that civic authorities had installed warning boards at the work site and blocked the road to prevent public access during the repair works.