Drones pressed into service over Musi river to locate missing persons

Hyderabad: Search operations for three persons who were swept away in open drains across the city on Sunday have continued, with HYDRAA teams deploying drones to scan stretches of the Musi River and surrounding catch pits.

Following heavy rains on Sunday, two men, Arjun (26) and Ramu (25), were washed away in the Afzal Sagar nala in Asif Nagar, while Dinesh Sunny (26) was swept into a nala in Vinobha Nagar in Musheerabad. After three days of continuous search, officials have intensified operations to trace the missing persons.

During the operation, Dinesh Sunny’s two-wheeler was recovered about 150 metres from the site of the accident. While HYDRAA personnel opened every catch pit along the underground drainage line between the accident site and the recovery point, no trace of Dinesh has been found. The same situation applies to Arjun and Ramu. Additional Director VarlaPapayya said that despite searching beyond the drains and inside the underground lines, and using drones in the Musi River, there have been no traces of the missing men.

On Wednesday, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy visited Mangor Basti in Habeeb Nagar to meet the families of Arjun and Ramu. The minister consoled the bereaved families and assured them of all possible assistance. Kishan Reddy stated that the issue troubles residents every year during the rainy season, highlighting the urgent need for a permanent solution.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed at Parsigutta as family members and relatives staged a protest, demanding that Dinesh Sunny be traced. They blocked the road near the accident site, raising slogans against civic authorities for failing to take preventive measures despite repeated complaints about the open and unprotected nala stretch. According to protesters, no breakthrough has been reported so far in the rescue efforts, with Dinesh’s scooter having been recovered from a manhole several metres from where he went missing.