The body of 28-year-old Faria Tasnim Jyoti was recovered on Tuesday morning, 36 hours after she fell into an uncovered roadside drain in Tongi’s Hossain Market area.
Rescue teams found her body around 9am in Shalikchura Beel, a nearby waterbody in the same locality, after an extensive search operation.
Md Shahin Alam, senior station officer at the Tongi Fire Service, said Jyoti had fallen into the open drain on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway near Tongi Imperial Hospital around 9pm on 27 July.
“The strong water current carried her body from the drain to the beel, where it was finally located,” he said.
Jyoti, originally from Masjid Para in Chuadanga Municipality, worked at a pharmaceutical company and had travelled to Tongi to deliver medicine to a hospital. She was the daughter of the late Oliullah Ahmed Bablu.
Witnesses and locals said the drain—located directly in front of Tongi Imperial Hospital—had been left uncovered for a long time, with no safety barriers or warning signs. Residents criticised authorities for their negligence, calling the drain a long-standing hazard.
“In such a busy area, leaving a drain open without any cover is inexcusable,” said one local resident.
Relatives also blamed the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRT) for failing to ensure public safety. Jyoti’s elder brother, Shovan, said her phone had been unreachable since the night of the incident.
“After searching everywhere, I came to the area around 7am Monday and found her shoes beside the drain. That’s when I realised what had happened,” he said.
Authorities have launched an investigation, but no official statement has been made regarding accountability or plans to fix the hazardous drain.