Ahmedabad: In an incident, which locals allege was the result of civic body’s negligence, a young man on a motorbike fell into an open pit on the busy Bibi Talav Road in Vatva on Tuesday night. The pit, not repaired for over a fortnight, was also not barricaded, locals said. The youth riding by fell into it around 8pm, prompting locals to alert the Ahmedabad Fire and Rescue Services. He was pulled out and taken to LG Hospital for treatment.A local said, “Bibi Talav is a busy road. Multiple requests were made to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to barricade and repair the pit, but no action was taken. Around 8pm on Tuesday, a 24-year-old named Ankit Yadav riding by fell into it. He and his vehicle were stuck in and locals gathered to help and had to struggle to bring him out.”The citizen added that insufficient street lighting made the rescue efforts difficult. Police and AFES teams arrived on the spot. After considerable effort, AFES personnel could pull Yadav and his bike out using ropes.People in the area said the accident could have been prevented. They say that on April 27, they had written to the deputy engineer about the small pit and the risk it posed. “Despite this, no barricade was set up. On Tuesday night, as Yadav’s bike passed over it, the ground around it too caved in, making it wider and deeper. The accident could have been avoided had timely measures been taken,” a resident of the area said.Himanshu Mehta, additional in the AMC, said, “Around 8pm on Tuesday, there was a drainage breakdown near Bibi Talav. The barricades set up around this breakdown were broken, leading to the incident where the young man fell into the pit with his bike. Emergency services provided immediate treatment to the biker, and the bike was retrieved with the help of the fire brigade.”
