The body of a 12-year-old Jharkhand girl who fell into an open drainage canal here on Monday evening was found in the slush near the ultimate disposal point of the canal at Thenral Nagar behind the Collectorate on Thursday morning.
Three workers of the Vellore Corporation who were engaged in the search operation sighted the body of Priyanka and informed the Corporation authorities.
The body was retrieved with the help of a crane, thus bringing to an end a nearly 60-hour-long operation carried out by the corporation, the fire and rescue service and police and a 10-member team from INS Rajali, the Naval Air Station in Arakkonam.
The body was later taken to the Government Vellore Medical College Hospital in Adukkamparai for post mortem.
The parents of Priyanka were inconsolable and refused to talk to reporters.
Family sources said that Priyanka, who had come with her parents for the treatment of her younger sister in the Christian Medical College Hospital, was taken out by her cousin Amith when she felt hungry. While returning after making some purchases, including a birthday cake for her sister-in-law, she fell into the canal and was washed away. When Amith tried to rescue her, he was retrieved by onlookers.
The School Education Minister, K.C. Veeramani, who visited the spot on Wednesday asked the authorities to speed up the search operation.
The body was buried in the Church of South India cemetery in the Tollgate here on Thursday evening.
Vellore Superintendent of Police, Mayor and Commissioner of Vellore Corporation placed wreaths on the body.
When asked what steps the district administration proposed to take to prevent such accidents in future, the Collector told The Hindu that a massive drive would be launched jointly with the Vellore Corporation to remove the encroachments on drainage channels.
The Mayor said the Corporation would identify the encroachments by forming different teams to undertake the task in different areas.
