Man asks Ghaziabad municipal chief to foot bill for repairing Mercedes over waterlogging

The notice was sent by Amit Kishor stating that he was on his way to Lajpat Nagar on July 23, when the car broke down at Shyam Park Extension, as it suffered damages due to waterlogging on the road

Ghaziabad

In the notice, Kishore contended that illegal encroachments were allowed to flourish in public spaces, especially on public drains and open lands meant for water run-off. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

A car owner from Vasundhara has sent a legal notice to the Ghaziabad municipal commissioner, asking the authority to foot the bill for repairing his car—around ₹16 lakh for fixing a Mercedes car damaged by waterlogging in Sahibabad on July 23— and another ₹5 lakh for mental agony and harassment.

HT has accessed a copy of the notice.

Municipal commissioner Vikramaditya Malik, in a statement issued on behalf of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation, termed it an attempt to tarnish the agency’s image for personal gain. “The photo of the vehicle shown by Shri Amit Kishore in his complaint, which has a Delhi number, clearly shows that there is no water even on the tyres. It has not been certified by any expert that the vehicle has broken down due to rain water logging. No other such case has been reported in the city,” the statement said.

The corporation said that they it has installed pump sets to drain water at waterlogging hot spots and that excess water has been drained timely.

The notice was sent by Amit Kishor, who said that he was on his way to Lajpat Nagar on July 23, when the car reportedly broke down at Shyam Park Extension, as it suffered damages due to heavy waterlogging on the road. Kishor owns a Mercedes GLA 200 D.

“There was heavy waterlogging on the road, and the drains were all choked due to heavy rains. I had to hire a tow van and send the car to Noida for repair. The survey for repairs is going on, and it is presently estimated at about ₹16 lakh. I have sent a legal notice to the municipal commissioner to compensate me for the repair and also for mental harassment I suffered on the road as I was stuck for about four hours,” Kishor said.

“It was not only me who suffered. There is a hospital near the spot and patients and ambulances were also facing issues due to waterlogging,” Kishor added.

In the notice, Kishor contended that illegal encroachments were allowed to flourish in public spaces, especially on public drains and open lands meant for water run-off. It also alleged that the encroachers were getting shielded.