Weeks after Noida techie’s death, authorities rush to implement safety quick fixes
From erecting 1.5-foot boundary walls along several open drains to installing tin-sheet barricades around construction sites, the Noida authority is overhauling safety on roads
Low walls, newly erected across deep, wide drains in Sector 25A. (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav) Under significant pressure after a young software engineer drowned in a water-filled construction pit in Sector 150 last month, Noida Authority has initiated a series of quick-fixes on the ground – even as it claims to be working on a long-term overhaul of safety measures on the roads and at public places and construction sites in the city.
The steps taken over the past week include erecting 1.5-foot boundary walls along several open drains, and installing tin-sheet barricades around construction sites.
In Sector 35, tin sheets painted green and marked with red and yellow crosses have come up between the road and deep excavation at a sprawling construction site. (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav)
27-year-old Yuvraj Mehta’s car fell into a pit full of water at an abandoned construction site not far from his home on the night of January 16. He died after allegedly screaming for help for nearly two hours as the vehicle sank slowly, with police and fire service personnel on the dark, unlit road being unable to locate and save him in the fog.
On Tuesday, The Indian Express saw low walls, newly erected across deep, wide drains in Sector 25A, being painted by labourers who said they had been hired by a local contractor. The concrete covers on the drains were missing at several places.
An open drain in Sector 25, Noida. (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav)
A few kilometres away, near Morna village in Sector 35, tin sheets painted green and marked with red and yellow crosses have come up between the road and deep excavation at a sprawling construction site.
Noida Authority officials have said several turns, including those at Sectors 74, 75, 76, and 65 would be made safer, and more U-turn would be built. But the work is yet to start, the officials said.
The officials justified the need for the temporary quick fixes on the ground that a month or more may be needed to implement their longer-term safety plans. “When it comes to placing concrete covers on open drains, creating concrete boundary walls, and restructuring [road] routes, these things take a longer time and would be completed in a month,” Chief Executive Officer of Noida Authority Krishna Karunesh told The Indian Express.
Karunesh was appointed to the post after his predecessor Lokesh M was moved out in the aftermath of the tragedy at Sector 150.
Tin banners cover a construction site in Wave City (Express Photo: Gajendra Yadav)
Karunesh also said that the Authority has fixed February 10 as the deadline to complete the short-term measures – erecting crash barriers, and adding deflectors, reflectors, and signages.
“We have also asked builders to ensure that all temporary measures are put in place within the next five to seven days, after which we will begin a review of these sites,” he said.
Real estate companies are required to address concerns relating to public safety at construction sites by February 28, the CEO said. “In case a developer fails to complete the work within the stipulated time, the Authority will undertake the work and recover the cost from the builder,” Karunesh said.
The Authority has also constituted a district-level road safety committee to identify critical points, but its report is yet to be submitted, officials said.
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