No Night Lights, No Reflectors, No Barricades Amid Dense Fog: Serious Lapses Raise Questions After Noida Techie's Death

Noida: The death of a 27-year-old software engineer has raised questions over the serious lapses and the lack of proper infrastructure in the outer areas of Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Yuvraj Mehta lost his life in a tragic incident after crying for help for hours, as police and the fire team failed to rescue him and watched him drown in a flooded ditch in Sector 150.

On Saturday night, Yuvraj was returning home from work when his car collided with a drainage boundary amid dense fog and fell into a waterlogged construction pit. The site had reportedly been dug two years ago for the construction of a mall.  After falling in the ditch, Yuvraj desperately struggled to stay alive, before finally succumbing to death hours later.

Who Is To Blame?

Lack Of Infrastructure

Many lapses have come to light following the death of the innocent man. Visuals from the place where the accident took place showed that there were no lights on the road. As per reports, the street lights are non-functional in the area. Further, there were no reflectors or reflecting signboards. The road turns at an angle of 90 degrees, making it a dangerous route to travel on amid low visibility with no night lights or reflectors to guide commuters.

As per reports, accidents have taken place on the same spot in the past as well. Despite that, authorities had not erected any barricades to prevent commuters from falling in the construction pit. Following the demise of Yuvraj, authorities are now constructing cement barricades at the spot. The action, if taken earlier, might have stopped the tragic end of Yuvraj Mehta.

Locals protesting after the man's claimed that they had demanded the installation of reflectors on the service road, however, authorities had not complied.

Lack Of Preparedness Of Authorities

After falling in the ditch, Yuvraj called his father, desperately seeking help. His father reached the location of the accident in 40 minutes. He added that he called police, who took another 20 to 22 minutes to reach the spot. The police then called the fire brigade team.

The victim's father said, "The fire brigade came, but they did not have a meaningful support system in the team. They did not have a diver or a swimmer. They did not have a boat...My son kept struggling."

It has been reported that first responders hesitated to enter the water to save the man, citing freezing temperatures and the hazard of submerged construction pillars. The rescue team who were present at the spot had to wait for the National Disaster Relief Force team.

The victim's father said the rescue teams did not have sufficient resources to save his son. “They were only throwing ropes. The rope could not reach my son. They were throwing it from the shore. If they had gone a little further…they could have…saved him. But they did not bother to get into the water," the grieving father said, adding, "If they had kept some facilities, like a boat, or a swimmer, or a diver...then my son would have been saved." He claimed that the rescue team did not even have a life jacket.

Victim's Desperate Attempts To Survive

While the authorities could not make successful attempts to save him, Yuvraj himself struggled against all odds to keep himself alive. His father noted that he got out of the car and lay on its roof so that the car would not be unbalanced. "Then he switched on the mobile torchlight and told me exactly where he was struggling. He told me that he would not be able to stay for long. He was drowning slowly," his father said.

Yuvraj Mehta was originally from Bihar's Sitamarhi and worked as a software engineer in Gurugram and lived in Tata Eureka Park, Noida.

Also Read- Screaming For Help, 27-Year-Old Techie Dies After Car Falls Into Noida Mall-Site Pit Amid Dense Fog; Family Alleges Negligence