Amid mounting allegations of apathy and negligence against the Noida administration following the drowning death of a 27-year-old software engineer, fresh accounts from a survivor of a similar accident have intensified scrutiny of the authorities’ preparedness and response.
The director of a real estate group – Wiztown Planners – has been arrested in connection with the case. While the official has been arrested, there was no official update as of Tuesday afternoon from the police on action against the other accused firm.
Speaking to NDTV, Gurvinder Singh, a truck driver whose vehicle plunged into the same ditch nearly two weeks before the fatal incident, recounted the poor experience – safety measures and delayed rescue efforts – he had to undergo at the site.
‘Jumped off the truck and landed in neck-deep water’
Recounting the incident, Gurvinder said the accident occurred because there were no visible warnings near the drain.
“The drain and the ditch are barely 10 steps from the road. There is no signboard or barricade. The truck hit the drain wall and overshot. The front tyres were in the air, and the middle ones got stuck on the wall. I jumped off the truck and landed in neck-deep water,” he said.
According to him, the response from authorities was slow and inadequate.
Cops came after two hours, did nothing
“I fell into the ditch around 12.30. Around 4 am, some local residents helped me out. Two cops came around two hours after I had fallen, but they did nothing. If the district administration wanted, an excavator could have been brought immediately,” he said.
When asked whether officials from the Noida authority assisted him, Gurvinder described a shocking interaction.
“A team from the authority came around noon and asked who would pay for the damaged wall. I told them that I barely survived,” he said.
Gurvinder added that the traumatic experience has left him with internal injuries and speech issues, including stammering.
Techie’s death sparks outrage, administrative action follows
Eighteen days after Gurvinder’s close shave, tragedy struck again. Software engineer Yuvraj Mehta was returning home to Sector 150 from Gurugram around midnight on Friday when his car overshot the road and fell into the same ditch. Despite rescue efforts by police and firefighters, Yuvraj drowned about 90 minutes later. His body was recovered the next morning.
Reacting to the death, Gurvinder said,”This man died. Who knows how many more people would die? There is no barricade or signboard there. The administration is responsible. If the administration wanted, an excavator would have come in minutes,” he said.
A driver for over two decades, Gurvinder insisted the accident was unavoidable.
“We get to know if the wheels have overshot the road. As soon as I realised what had happened, I pulled the handbrake. Still, the truck hit the wall,” he said. “This is my second life. Guruji saved me,” he said, according to NDTV.
Yuvraj’s death has triggered widespread criticism of the Noida administration and its disaster response mechanism. Eyewitnesses alleged that police and fire personnel hesitated to enter the water due to fears of submerged iron rods, a claim denied by the police, who cited dense fog as a major obstacle during the rescue.
Questions have also been raised over the absence of basic safety measures such as barricades, reflectors, and warning signage at the accident-prone stretch.
In response to the growing outrage, the Yogi Adityanath government has constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team to probe the incident. Meanwhile, Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M has been removed from his post, signaling administrative action amid rising public anger.