Meerut police and municipal officials launched an urgent rescue operation after a woman reported that someone had fallen into an open drain.

The alert triggered an immediate response, with teams and heavy machinery deployed to the site.

For nearly three hours, workers cleaned and searched through sludge and debris but found no victim. Authorities now suspect the report may have been false and intended to force long-pending drain cleaning.

The episode has once again highlighted Meerut’s neglected civic infrastructure, raising questions about why dangerous open drains remain unattended until emergencies arise.