'Can Result In Serious Mishap': Noida Builder Had Alerted Of Fatal Water Pit Years Before Techie Yuvraj Mehta's Death

New Delhi: The death was 27-year-old Noida techie Yuvraj Mehta has exposed gross failures in the "planned' city as the latest documents revealed that nearly three years before the fatal accident, the builder’s firm had issued a formal warning to the Noida Authority regarding hazardous site conditions. This revelation has triggered scrutiny over the regulatory body's alleged inaction in the years leading up to the tragedy.

A 2022 letter to the Noida authority revealed the builder specifically flagged the collapse of sewer and drainage lines that caused sewage and stormwater to flood the plot's basement, the exact location where the victim later drowned in his vehicle.

Requests from Wiztown to modify project design

Wiztown Planners, the developers behind the Artham project, reportedly escalated their concerns through formal correspondence to both the Noida Authority and local police.

The legal deadlock prevented the developers from revising the site’s layout plan. Despite subsequent requests from Wiztown to modify the project design, the authority denied permission, leaving the site’s structure unchanged and deteriorating for over five years.

In the midst of this standoff, the Noida Authority penalised the firm with Rs 6 lakh fine. Wiztown, meanwhile, responded on July 19, 2022, with a formal letter contesting the penalty and explicitly stating that fixing the drain was not their responsibility.

‘Serious mishap’ warning

The correspondence explicitly warned of a potential “serious mishap” unless immediate repairs were conducted.

Anchal Bohra, director of the builder firm Wiztown Planners, wrote, urging immediate intervention, “This can result in a serious mishap, and accidents may occur unknowingly if the sewer and drain lines are not restored immediately and the drain water from our plot is not pumped out."

The builder further reported that persistent waterlogging had compromised the structural integrity of the plot’s boundary wall, leading to partial collapses. Documentation submitted to the Authority included photographs of the flooded basement and warnings that even temporary safety barricades were failing as a result of receding road surfaces and intense water pressure.

2015 Stormwater Plan Stayed on Paper

The waterlogged trench in Sector 150, where the techie drowned, was initially allotted for a private mall project.

Surprisingly, the plot turned into a pond as rainwater and waste water which were discharged from nearby housing societies were allowed to accumulate in it for a decade, as per reports.

Furthermore, despite repeated surveys and field inspections, the 2015 stormwater management strategy drafted by the irrigation department, was never implemented and remained only on papers.

Also, a 2023 letter showed multiple communications were exchanged between 2015 and 2023 on channelising runoff into the Hindon River. It specifically warned that rainwater was pooling in a dug-up commercial site, which had effectively transformed into an open, uncontrolled waterbody.

The letter further stated that the irrigation department had drawn up designs for a regulator with mechanical gates at Sector 150 through a consultant, which was eventually vetted by IIT-Delhi.

However, following a joint inspection on October 4, 2023, Noida authority officials noted that runoff from several new sectors had been diverted into the current drainage system. Furthermore, warning of a potential surge in water volume, they recommended replacing traditional mechanical gates with more advanced hydraulic or pneumatic systems.

In light of these changes, the irrigation department requested a further Rs 30 lakh to conduct a new survey and update project designs where the funding intended to cover revised drawings and essential hydrological metrics, including peak discharge, water depth, and longitudinal slope, though the updated survey report has yet to be finalised.

What Satellite images show

Evidence from Google Earth confirms that a hazardous, stagnant water body had been forming at the site since late 2021. Satellite imagery from March 2025 reveals that while surrounding infrastructure was fully developed, the construction pit remained abandoned, filled with dark water and overgrown with vegetation.

Meanwhile, a few days before the techie's death, a truck had crashed at the same location and locals alleged negligence on the part of local authorities for failing to install barricades and warning signage. 

The incident has triggered a major administrative shake-up, resulting in the removal of Noida Authority CEO M Lokesh and the assembly of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to determine why safety measures were ignored. Local residents alleged that the site was a known death trap, noting that a truck had crashed at the exact same spot just days prior. Despite these warnings, no barricades or signage were installed.

Legal action also intensified as an FIR has been registered under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 106 (causing death by negligence) and 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), along with other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Yuvraj Mehta Incident

On January 17, Yuvraj Mehta, a 27-year-old techie crashed just 500 meters from his home in Greater Noida.

Due to heavy fog and poor lighting, he missed a sharp turn and his Grand Vitara plunged through a broken wall into a 30-foot-deep, water-filled pit. Unable to swim, the victim climbed onto the roof of his car, shouting for help and using his phone's flashlight to signal for rescue.

He managed to call his father, who rushed to the scene. However, despite hours of rescue operation, the techie could not be saved.

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