Fatal accidents expose dangers of open pits, drains on capital roads

Bhubaneswar: A series of fatal accidents in the national capital recently has once again exposed the dangers posed by open, poorly barricaded construction pits and drains on city roads in urban settings.

In the latest incident on Friday, a 25-year-old motorcyclist died after falling into a 20-ft-deep pit dug for Delhi Jal Board work in Janakpuri. The pit was allegedly left without barricades and proper warning signs.




The victim’s body and motorcycle were recovered hours later following an overnight search by his family, triggering public outrage and political backlash. The Janakpuri death came close on the heels of another widely reported tragedy in the NCR earlier this year.

In the tragic incident, a 27-year-old software engineer drowned after his car plunged into a water-filled construction pit in Noida. That incident too raised serious questions over contractor negligence, lack of barricading, and failure of monitoring by civic agencies.

Urban experts warn that such accidents are not isolated, but are a warning for the administration in urban settings like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, where construction works on public roads are taken up without basic safety protocols, especially at night.

Civic activists say the same lethal conditions exist in Bhubaneswar, where large stretches of roads are currently dug up for sewerage expansion, stormwater drain work, telecom and power cable laying, and flyover construction.

In many areas, trenches remain open for days with mere loose tape, a single barricade, and no warning sign. “This is really dangerous. The city authorities should take lessons from the incident,” said road safety expert Syed Maqbool Ali.

Localities such as Nayapalli, Saheed Nagar, Rasulgarh, Patrapada, Chandrasekharpur, and Old Town areas frequently see open pits along busy roads and inside residential clusters, mainly for drain and sewerage construction work.

Poor lighting, uneven road surfaces, and the absence of reflective signage significantly increase the risk for 2-wheeler riders, pedestrians, the elderly, and children, particularly during late evening and early morning hours.

During monsoon, the danger multiplies as open pits fill with water, making it impossible to understand the depth. Residents recall several near-miss incidents where vehicles narrowly escaped plunging into excavated stretches.

“It is only luck that prevented a fatal accident so far. A drain construction work in our area is going on for months now. The pits are so huge that one can easily fall and sustain grievous injuries,” said Ritesh Jena, a resident of Chandrasekharpur.

Urban planners caution that Bhubaneswar’s fast-paced infrastructure push, if not matched with strict on-ground enforcement, could replicate the Delhi-like tragedies. In the past, the city witnessed several such incidents involving fatalities.

“We fenced and barricaded all the open drains. We also issued an advisory to the contractors of sewerage, drainage, and other work to put up adequate safety measures at the worksite. We will reinspect vulnerable sites,” said city mayor Sulochana Das.