Cover broken, senior citizen falls into 5-foot-deep drain near Jagat Farm in Greater Noida

Noida: A senior citizen was severely injured after he fell into a 5-foot-deep drain with a broken cover in the Jagat Farm area on Sunday evening.
Sanjay Singh, a resident of Eldeco Green Meadows, Sector P1, told TOI he was crossing the area when he stepped onto the drain's cover, covered with dry leaves and broken pillars, and fell into the concrete drain filled with dirty water. He remained trapped for nearly 10 minutes, shouting for help in the dark, before a family passing by rescued him.
"I shouted for help but it being a service area not many people were present as only cars of people visiting the market were parked there. I tried finding my phone but I was totally drenched in dirty water," Singh, who took early retirement from TCS and is currently running a consultancy, said.
He was then rushed to a nearby hospital in an auto where, in the emergency unit, he was initially given first aid and told to get admitted. "They conducted ECG and other vital tests while my arm and leg had several bruises and skin abrasions, which were stitched until 2 am. I have stitches in three places, one in my right arm and two places in my right leg. The stitches in the arm are in a V shape and are more than a dozen," he said.
Bleeding heavily, Singh sighed in relief, saying he was lucky to miss the iron rods near the drain, which could have been fatal.
Harinder Bhati, a resident of Sector Beta 1, has pointed out several such incidents occurring routinely. He added he has rescued several stray cattle and animals from drains with broken or no covers at all. "We keep complaining about broken drains because cattle and common people fall prey to accidents almost every day due to this. I request the CEO/ACEO to take appropriate action against contractors who do not heed our pleas," he said
On Sunday, several residents planned to meet GNIDA CEO regarding grievances on the multiple infrastructural issues in the city, such as open drains, leaking Ganga water pipes in the Eta and Alpha sectors, and sewage issues.
Taking cognisance, GNIDA division 5 assistant manager Ramkishan visited the spot on Monday and ordered prompt repairs.
Manoj Bhati, president of federation of RWA (FORWA) said a meeting has held in Sector Xu 3 on Sunday, where various RWAs of the city participated. "Apart from discussions on hiked water charges, garbage collection fees, and lack of transport system in Greater Noida sectors, other issues discussed were frequent breakdowns and leakages of drinking water pipelines, untended waste, and overflowing sewers in residential sectors," he said.
Devendra Tiger, who conducted the meeting, said the drinking water pipeline burst has become a frequent issue with no redress. "GNIDA is also charging for garbage collection from the house, even as overflowing sewers and broken drains are common across the city. "FORWA raised this issue earlier, but no decision has been taken by the officials even after a year," said Tiger.
Alok Nagar, Vice President of FORWA added if there is no improvement in the system even after the complaints, they will resort to protests and dharnas.