Wednesday’s heavy rainfall in Gurugram claimed five lives, including that of a 27-year-old auto-rickshaw driver who tragically fell into an open sewer in Sector 49.
The auto-rickshaw driver, Shailendra from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh, was reported missing by his family after he failed to return home. His wife made over 200 unanswered calls between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
According to the police, Shailendra last spoke to his wife around 5 PM on Wednesday, telling her he was dropping off a passenger from Sector 10 to Sector 49 and would return shortly. He stopped responding to calls after another conversation around 9 PM. Concerned, the family alerted the authorities.
The police later recovered his body from a sewer near Gate No. 2 of Sheeshpal Vihar. His phone was found inside his auto, which was parked nearby. Investigations revealed that he had stepped out to relieve himself and unknowingly fell into the submerged, open sewer due to waterlogging. At the time, the water level was between two-and-a-half to three feet, making the hazard invisible.
The auto-rickshaw driver was among five people who lost their lives in Gurugram during Wednesday’s downpour. Several parts of the city were heavily waterlogged after intense rainfall across the Delhi-NCR region.
Other fatalities reported:
- Akshat Jain, a graphic designer, died after receiving an electric shock from a pole near Ghasola village close to Sector 49. His family filed a negligence complaint against the power department at Sector 50 police station.
- Pawan Kumar, from Farrukhabad, UP, was electrocuted after touching a pole at Genpact Chowk.
- Prashant, another victim of electrocution, died in Arjun Nagar while visiting his relatives.
- Vanshika, a woman working as a security staff member at IGI Airport, died in a road accident near Khandsa while returning home in a cab.
The series of deaths has sparked concerns over poor civic infrastructure and lack of preparedness to deal with monsoon-related hazards in Gurugram.