Every time the monsoon season arrives, Dombivali resident and bravery award winner, Rohit Janmanchi (19) thinks about the time when he saved a little girl who had fallen into an open drain one dark, July night. Remembering that day, the Hardware Networking student who was 17 at the time says, "I was attending a class at around 8 pm. It was raining heavily, it had rained hard all evening. My friends and I did not have an umbrella and so we decided to wait till the rain stopped. A teacher at our classes came in running saying that a girl had fallen in a drain nearby. That is when we rushed out."

AWARDS GALORE: Rohit Janmanchi stands with his bravery awards

Sewage salvage
The girl was returning with her older sister from karate class when she fell in an open drain near Madhavi School in Dombivali, East. Janmanchi continues, "The lights had gone out and it was pitch dark with the rain pouring down. One could see lightning and hear thunder. The roads were flooded, a crowd had gathered. A girl was crying saying her sister had fallen in a drain. My friends and I immediately jumped in the gutter."