Ahmedabad: The sewer on Narol-Vishala road, which swallowed a 10-year-old, now has a lid. The search for Manisha Salat’s body has been called off, and the investigation into her disappearance has receded from public attention. But for her family, the tragedy has not ended. Her parents, Paru and Bala Salat, and their four other children live next to a footpath in Ganeshnagar, struggling for food and shelter. Three of the four remaining children are visually impaired. Ajay (13) is the only one who can see, and Maya (11), Mangal (7), and Arman (4) can’t. Paru said she had taken Manisha to several doctors and was hoping to take her to an eye hospital near Civil Hospital, but tragedy struck.“When Manisha fell into that gutter, she cried, ‘Mummy, I have fallen!’ That was the last time I heard her voice. I turned around and she was gone,” Paru said, recalling the afternoon. The family had just got off an autorickshaw and was heading home.The open manhole was concealed by overgrown grass. Paru said she too slipped near it and Manisha, walking behind her, lost her footing and fell backwards into the deep drainage shaft.“I searched through the grass with my feet, and my leg sank into the opening. That was when I realised there was a deep pit. I wanted to jump in after her, but my husband stopped me and asked people to help,” she said.The incident occurred around 3 pm, but emergency personnel arrived only around 5 pm, she alleged. The family remained at the spot for 10 days, hoping for some trace of Manisha. Nothing identifiable was recovered. “Not even her clothes were found,” said Paru.No accidental death has so far been reported due to want of a body. “The rescuers were late by two to three hours. By then, my daughter’s body had dissolved in that chemical-filled water. We searched for days, but did not get even her clothes or bones,” Paru said.Her anger is now directed at AMC. “They could not ensure that my daughter was safe, but were very quick to take away our belongings. When they demolish our shelters, they take everything, including our bedding and identity papers. I had to pay Rs 3,000 to get our Aadhaar card and documents back,” she alleged.The family lives on casual labour and by hawking toys. Bala also performs magic tricks on the streets at night. “Sometimes, we can scrape together just one meal in two or three days. There is no place for us to bathe,” Paru said.Paru said the family had lived in the Pirana-Piplaj road area for nearly 15 years, moving between makeshift settlements after repeated evictions. Neighbours from Bharwad and Muslim communities now provide drinking water from their taps, she said. “We had hoped our children would get treatment and have a better life. We are struggling to keep the four of them alive,” she said.