A day after bank employees Punya Ashray Sharma and Viraj Dwivedi drowned in the waterlogged Old Railway Road underpass in Faridabad’s Fatehpur Chandela, six barricades surrounded the area on Saturday. The water too remained — just a foot had receded over 15 hours.
On Friday, there was just one barricade — tied with rope suspended from a bamboo stick and an electric pole — when the men decided to drive their Mahindra XUV 700 through the underpass that was filled with 12-foot-deep water that nearly touched the roof. The rope was on the ground when the men ventured in around 11 pm; they were heading back from Gurgaon after work.
On Saturday, when The Indian Express visited the spot, the road was barricaded from all three sides. An ERV stood guard while seven cops were deployed, not letting in even pedestrians. Stains on the walls indicated a higher water level that receded recently. On the street above and on all sides of the underpass, garbage had been dumped, clogging a drain.
Faridabad received 56.4 mm of rainfall till Saturday morning. According to the IMD, Faridabad has received 155.9 mm of rainfall this month so far, 87% excess for this time of the year.
Additional Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF), Swapnil Patil, said in the previous year, there were two motors of 30HP each running on a genset of 125 KVA. “This year, we added another motor of 30 HP; this totals three motors of 30HP each with a genset of 250KVA now. This mechanism installed by MCF was running without fail since 1 pm Friday,” he said.
However, the water had not receded even at 3 pm on Saturday.
A senior official in the district administration said Faridabad saw unprecedented rain Friday. “Our pumping system was in place, but it rained heavily and we had to deploy machinery at many points. This is a low-lying area so it takes time before the stretch is drained out… So far, no order has been issued by higher authorities seeking an enquiry,” he added.
Locals, meanwhile, claimed the underpass gets flooded each time it rains. “This area is in a depression and run-off water from Sector 21, Railway Station and surrounding areas gets collected here… responsibility rests on the MCF and police to ensure no one goes there. They alleged the two men went inside despite their orders. How is that possible?” claimed G N Mishra, a retired school teacher, who lives nearby.
Gesturing at the cops deployed, he said, “It takes a tragedy for the government to wake up.”
Police also maintained the stretch floods after every rain. “Our officers gestured at the car, but they ignored it and sped away,” said ASI Rajkumar Yadav from the Faridabad NIT police station. “There were four-five barricades, but due to flooding, most of them had sunk,” he added.
Meanwhile, agencies deflected responsibility.
In a report submitted by the MCF to the Deputy Commissioner, it said the underpass was constructed by Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) in 2006-2007 and handed over to the civic body. “At the time of construction, HSVP provided a sump well with a 20 HP motor; no disposal line was provided/laid by HSVP… rainwater gathers/accumulates in this underpass from Sector-21B, Old Faridabad Railway Road and Village Fatehpur Chandela,” it states.
The report flags that “the accumulation of water in this underpass was not solely due to rain”.
The MCF said the drain along Badhkal flyover to Sector 28/29 dividing road flowed into the underpass, causing water accumulation. This overwhelmed the capacity of pumps. “This drain pertaining to FMDA (Faridabad Municipal Development Authority) is completely covered and may require desilting…,” it says.
When contacted, FMDA Chief Engineer Vishal Bansal said the MCF conducts desilting. However, the civic body maintained that the main drain, starting from the culvert near Sector 21A along Badhkal flyover to Sector 19-28 dividing road, is not cleared and partially silted.
“This relates to FMDA,” the agency said.
The victims, Viraj Dwivedi and (R) Punya Ashray Sharma (Express Photo) 
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