Bike rider plunges to death from half-done flyover in Ghaziabad
We found DMRC staff was using the flyover to move to the Metro site and the barricading could have been removed then. We had put up concrete blocks but these were removed. Their (DMRC) shuttering and generator was found at the flyover.
A 30-year-old biker plunged to his death early Monday morning from a semi-constructed flyover at Meerut crossing in Ghaziabad from where barricades had been removed.
Ghaziabad development authority officials said their contractor had suspended work for the past three months due to pending forest clearance. They said Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) workers used the flyover to move to the adjacent 9.41km metro construction site.
The victim’s family claimed the incident took place around 3 am but the police took him to a hospital only at 7.30 am and by then he was already dead.
Deepak Kumar, a contractual worker with New Delhi Municipal Corporation, started off from his in-laws’ house near NTPC, Dadri around 1.30 am on his bike and was heading home to Rohtash Nagar in Delhi.
“Around 3am he could have reached the spot and climbed the non-barricaded flyover. I got a call from police around 5 am telling me that my brother was injured. A voice from behind told the caller to tell me precisely that my brother was no more. Then, we rushed to the hospital and found that he was brought dead at MMG hospital at 7.30 am by police,” said Manoj Kumar, victim’s elder brother.
The victim’s bike was crushed and his helmet broke into pieces due to the impact of the fall from nearly six metres.
Police later called up the ambulance and took the victim to MMG Hospital where he was declared brought dead. Deepak had suffered severe head injuries.
The flyover that has been under construction since last year spans nearly 400 metres and has a height of nearly six metres at its highest point. The first section from new bus stand to Meerut crossing has constructed but the other side is held up pending clearance .
“We had tried to persuade him not to leave house so early in morning and amid dense fog conditions. But he insisted. He had come with his family to spend the New Year. But my sister did not want to go out on the bike along with two minor children. This is sheer negligence on part of agency constructing the flyover. We will lodge a complaint soon,” said Rohit Kumar, the victim’s brother-in-law.
Officiating superintendent of police (city) Rajesh Kumar said the police would check with the construction agency on the absence of a barricade and also about the delay in providing help to the victim. GDA officials also reached the spot to inquire into the incident.
“We have found out that DMRC staff was using the flyover to move to their adjacent metro site and the barricading could have been removed then. We had put up concrete blocks but these were also removed from some parts. Their (DMRC) shuttering and generator was found lying at the flyover. The DMRC staff had started using the flyover since December 17 and we sent them a message to barricade it properly after work,” said Kaptan Singh, executive-engineer, GDA.
“We have now put up barricades at the starting point as well at some distance from the flyover. We have told DMRC staff not to use it further,” he added.
A DMRC spokesperson said that their staff used the flyover for some minor work related to the adjacent 9.41km Metro line.
“Our officials are particular about safety issues, including barricading of the flyover. They are not responsible for the incident,” the spokesperson said.