Scooter rider dies after falling into open drain along GT Road in Ghaziabad

The family said that though the incident took place late at night, people came to Lal’s help within minutes

A 48-year-old man riding a scooter died after falling into an open drain along the Grand Trunk Road near the Thakurdwara flyover in Ghaziabad late Sunday night, police said on Monday.

The drain runs parallel to the GT Road near the Thakurdwara flyover. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Police identified the deceased as Shankar Lal, 48, a resident of the Pakki Mori locality at Dasna Gate in Ghaziabad. They said Lal was riding his scooter when he suddenly lost balance and fell into the roadside drain around 11.50pm. Passersby spotted a scooter lying on the road with its headlights on and, on checking, found Lal in the drain. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

“The man fell into the drain after losing his balance while riding the scooter. It is an open drain running along the GT Road. Locals rushed him to a hospital where he was declared dead. The family did not file a police complaint and also did not opt for an autopsy,” said Dhawal Jaiswal, deputy commissioner of police (city).

The family said that though the incident took place late at night, people came to Lal’s help within minutes.

“My brother had shut his grocery shop and was driving home while carrying a bucket of waste in his hand. The bucket probably got entangled in the scooter’s handlebar and he lost his balance. The scooter hit a tree, and my brother was thrown off the vehicle into the open drain, which was about two feet wide. He probably sustained a head injury in the fall. The scooter lay on the road and local people arrived to help him within two to three minutes. Police were also informed,” said Yogesh Garg, Lal’s brother.

Garg said Lal had a daily routine of visiting the Kesri Mata temple, Thakurdwara temple and the Devi temple on his way home at night.

“It was his routine for the past 20 years and he would seek blessings from outside the temple. We did not opt for a postmortem or file a police complaint, as there was no foul play involving anyone else or any other vehicle. The police have CCTV footage of the incident,” Garg said.

The drain runs parallel to the GT Road near the Thakurdwara flyover. Officials of the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation said covering the drain required funds and could hamper regular cleaning work.

“It is an unfortunate incident. The police have CCTV footage of the incident. Covering drains requires funds and can hamper cleaning work,” said NK Chaudhary, chief engineer of the corporation.

Following the January 17 incident in Noida’s Sector 150, where a software engineer died after falling into a water-filled, unfenced pit, Ghaziabad district magistrate Ravinder Kumar Mandar had directed departments and agencies to identify risky spots within their jurisdictions.

Officials had said around 140 such spots were identified. During the latest review last week, officials found that work on 83 of these spots was pending, and departments were directed to complete the work within a fortnight.

“It falls under the jurisdiction of the corporation, and we will obtain the details of the incident,” said Vikas Kashyap, additional district magistrate (city).