Uncovered manholes await accidents in Noida

Uncovered manholes at various places here seem to be open invitations for tragedies similar to the one faced by the family of the four-year-old girl who died on Sunday after falling in a borewell in Manesar, Haryana. Saurabh Trivedi reports.

Uncovered manholes at various places here seem to be open invitations for tragedies similar to the one faced by the family of the four-year-old girl who died on Sunday after falling in a borewell in Manesar, Haryana.

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In May, an officer of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) died after falling into a manhole at Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. Though the incident prompted the Noida authority to take immediate measures to cover manholes in the city but the residents of many sectors say the situation is same.

"Several times, I tried to lodge a complaint of damaged manhole covers at the authority's helpline number (8860112244) but no official responded," said Munna Sharma, a resident of Sector 71.

As the monsoon is set to arrive, the residents of the city fear that these manholes can disappear under rain water and lead to mishaps.

"We have covered all open manholes of our area from the RWA budget because we can't put the residents' lives at risk by depending on the authority," said Sunil Gupta, president of Sector 36 RWA.

The residents of sectors 7, 8, 10, 11, 27, 18 and others complained that despite repeated requests, the authority has failed to cover drains in their areas.

"Most of the open manholes are in the middle of the road. In case of power failure or during rains, they can prove disastrous for the motorists as well as pedestrians," said Amit Singh, a resident of Sector 29.

The residents of many areas in the city complained that they had narrow escapes while walking or driving along the sector roads.