NEW DELHI: Authorities should have covered the ditch or at least erected a warning sign by it to prevent people from going near it, said the brother of the auto-rickshaw driver, who drowned in a ditch filled with rainwater near Wazirabad.
Ajit Sharma, 51, was returning home after dropping a passenger in east Delhi’s Bhajanpura on Friday when his auto got stuck in a ditch filled with water near Waziarabad. When he got out of it to push the auto, he fell into the ditch and drowned.
It was his father who was informed about the incident by some policemen who visited his home, said 32-year-old Kuldeep Sharma, Ajeet’s brother.
“When police checked the belongings of my brother, they found he lived in Nand Nagri. They came to our home and told us about the incident.
“My father went with them to the spot and later to the hospital. I was at work when got to know about his death and immediately rushed to the GTB hospital,” Kuldeep said.
“My brother had dropped a passenger in Bhajanpura and was returning when the incident happened. We want justice for him and his family. Those who were behind the negligence should be held responsible. Government should have covered the area or put barriers there,” he said.
Ajit used to live with his family in the Loni area of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Kuldeep said.
Ajit’s 21-year-old son Dhruv Vashishth said his father had taken up auto-rickshaw driving after getting fired from a factory job in Jhilmil.
Meanwhile, Delhi govt on Saturday said strict action will be taken the road contractor and officials if they are found guilty of laxity.
The government will also enforce a set of upgraded safety norms on priority in the aftermath of the incident, according to a statement from PWD minister Atishi’s office on Saturday. “These norms will help...avoid such mishaps,” it said.