The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) promised to ensure that all grievances pertaining to civic amenities will be addressed soon after residents gathered in huge numbers to protest government apathy.

The protest followed a freak accident on Monday, where a motorcyclist, Mukesh, had a near-miss after he rode into an open manhole submerged under water of an overflowing sewer near Bata Chowk.

 Mukesh’s bike, however, was stuck in the open manhole and was later pulled out by the locals. The victim escaped, what could have been a fatal accident, as he was thrown off the bike on to the road due to the impact.

“He was fortunate to have escaped falling inside the manhole else it might have proved fatal due to the harmful gases he might have inhaled,” Savita Gautam, ex-councillor, said.

Soon after the accident locals blocked the road and shouted slogans against the MCF. According to the protesters, the 500-metre stretch between Delight Hotel and Bata Chowk has been submerged under sewage water since January, after the MCF officials dug the manhole and left it open.

“There is not a single day one would find the water dried up on this stretch. There are several such stretches on several main roads where the MCF has dug the sewage line and left it open callously for a mishap to happen,” alleged Anand Prakash, a resident of Faridabad.

According to Deen Dayal Gautam, chairman of Social Justice and Rights Society, who lead the protest: “We have been regularly complaining to authorities about these deathtraps. Nothing, however, has been done so far, so we have to resort to blocking roads in order to reach them before any fatality occurs.”

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