A 15-year-old school student went missing after falling into an open drain at Shatabdi Nagar Bank Colony in Siripur here on Sunday.The Class-X student was identified as Jyotirmay Behera, a native of Palamamunda near Baramunda. He fell into the storm-water-filled drain while going to attend tuition classes.Fire Services personnel, police and local residents launched a search operation to trace the boy. Locals, who are still clueless how the incident occurred, have blamed the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the incident.Following the tragedy, vehicular communication in the area was affected as a large number of Congress activists hit the streets shouting slogans against the BMC’s negligence. The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) staged a demonstration and blocked the Jagamara Road protesting against the failure of the State Government and the BMC in solving the drainage and flood control systems in the city. The protesters, who blocked the road for three hours, demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for family of missing student. NSUI State president Yaseer Nawaz said people of Bhubaneswar ‘Smart City’ have been witnessing floods frequently and despite repeated protests, BMC, BDA and city MLAs are keeping mum. “Drains at several areas of capital city have been left open. Many people have been swept away in flooded drains in past. But State Government seems unconcerned about plight of people,” said Jatni Congress MLA Suresh Routray.
