On Friday, a devastating accident occurred in Faridabad, where a bank manager and a cashier lost their lives after their SUV became submerged in a flooded underpass. The tragedy happened amidst heavy rainfall that has been affecting Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
The Incident
Punyashreya Sharma, the manager of HDFC Bank’s branch in Sector 31, Gurugram, and Viraj Dwivedi, a cashier at the same branch, were heading home to Faridabad in their Mahindra XUV700 on Friday evening. As they approached the Old Faridabad railway underpass, they encountered a serious problem: the underpass was flooded due to the ongoing heavy rains. Despite noticing the water, they were unable to gauge how deep it was. The SUV started to sink, and the two men attempted to escape by swimming to safety. Unfortunately, they were overwhelmed by the rising water and drowned.
The police were alerted about the vehicle stuck in the flooded underpass. A team rushed to the scene and managed to retrieve Sharma’s body from the vehicle. However, Dwivedi’s body was found only after an extensive search that continued into the early hours of Saturday morning, around 4 am.
Sad news for banking fraternity: Bank Manager and Cashier Die in Flooded Underpass in Faridabad pic.twitter.com/PEpCLXk55a
— Hellobanker (@Hellobanker_in) September 14, 2024
Weather Conditions
The heavy rains that caused this tragedy have been relentless. Both Thursday and Friday saw significant downpours in Delhi and NCR, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall. The IMD attributed the weather conditions to a depression over southwest Uttar Pradesh. On Friday, the rain led to severe waterlogging and traffic jams across NCR. In Gurugram, areas like Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, and IFFCO Chowk were notably affected.
Ongoing Weather Warnings
The rain persisted into Saturday, prompting a yellow alert for moderate rainfall. According to IMD data, Delhi has received over 1,000 mm of rainfall this month. This figure is the highest recorded since 2021 and the second highest in the past decade.
Both high educsted and over congidance drew them towards death.