Twenty-six years old Ankit had to pay with his life the cost of gross negligence of the authorities when the car he was travelling in fell off the hill side. Shockingly, the roadside from where the car had fallen was washed off by the cloudburst on August 15, neither had any warning sign nor a barrier.
Alok Bhatt, who is a relative of the Gujrada Man Singhwala resident Ankit Silmana, told The Pioneer that on September 30, Ankit had hired a taxi to reach his office. Ankit took the Maldevta-Sarkhet-Silla road as he was unaware that the flash flood on August 15 had washed away the road and their car went straight into the ditch. Ankit succumbed to his injuries on October 2. Bhatt alleged that the department concerned had not cared to put any road barrier or warning sign on the road which had resulted in the accident. He claimed that the Chief Engineer and Superintending Engineer of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) were not aware of the accident and the department did not bother to close the road despite the tragic accident. Bhatt informed that the family of Ankit has lodged a complaint at Rajpur police station alleging gross negligence on part of the authorities responsible for accident and the police are investigating the case.
"It is noteworthy that site of accident is only 15 km from the state capital and if such is the state of road in capital, the condition of roads in far flung areas of the hill state can be imagined. It is important that lessons are learnt from Ankit's death and an example should be set by punishing the guilty responsible for the accident", he said.
When contacted the Chief Engineer of Uttarakhand Rural Road Development Agency under which the PMGSY operates, A K Dinkar told The Pioneer that an inquiry has been ordered in the unfortunate accident. He said that the department has been asked to ensure that all such roads should be closed so that repetition of such incidences is avoided. The Chief Engineer of the PMGSY (Garhwal), Satyen Sharma, who incidentally assumed charge after the accident on September 30, claimed that the department had put some stones on the aforesaid road after the flash floods but it appears that someone had removed them. He said that the issue is brought to the notice of higher authorities.