A Letter From 2023 Could Have Saved Noida Techie. It Was Lost In Files

The UP Irrigation Department issued an official communication to the Noida authority, flagging the need to install head regulators in the pit to clear excess rainwater

20 Jan 2026, 04:40 · www.ndtv.com

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A 2023 UP Irrigation Dept letter warned Noida Authority about water accumulation risk in a pit
The letter proposed head regulators to clear excess rainwater into the Hindon river, but was lost in files
Yuvraj Mehta drowned after his car fell into the water-filled pit in Noida's Sector 150

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Three years before software engineer Yuvraj Mehta drowned in a water-filled pit in Noida's Sector 150, the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department wrote to the Noida Authority and flagged the need for a project to prevent the accumulation of water in the pit.

This letter, however, was lost in the files. The project was never taken up. Water kept accumulating in the pit till disaster struck on Friday night, when the pit swallowed the 27-year-old's life. The tale of the missing letter has, yet again, put the spotlight on administrative negligence and its disastrous impact on citizens' lives.

A Lost Letter

News agency PTI has reported that in 2023, the UP Irrigation Department issued an official communication to the Noida authority, flagging the need to install head regulators in the pit to clear excess rainwater and drainage by channelising it into the Hindon river.

A head regulator regulates the flow of water and prevents the accumulation of excess silt in a drain or canal.

The Irrigation Department letter also mentioned that budgetary provisions had been made for the proposed work, but the letter was lost in the files, and the project never materialised. A Noida Authority official told PTI that he was not aware of any such letter.

Officials have said the accumulated water in the under-construction basement where Mehta's car fell was not just due to rainfall but also discharge from drains linked to nearby residential societies.

Local residents who carried out protest marches over Yuvraj's tragic death said that if the proposed head regulators were built, the water would not have stagnated at the site.

A Young Life Lost

Yuvraj was returning to his Noida home from his office in Gurugram late on Friday night. He was less than a kilometre from his home in Tata Eureka Park in Noida's Sector 150 when tragedy struck. He lost control of his Grand Vitara car near the last turn on the road to his home, apparently due to low visibility. His car overshot the road and fell into a ditch. He called his father, Rajkumar Mehta, and asked him to get help. His father alerted the cops. Police and firefighters reached the spot, but dense fog hindered the rescue operation. Yuvraj had switched on his phone's torch and was asking for help.

Multiple reports have said Yuvraj kept shouting for help for nearly 90 minutes -- till about 1.30 am -- before he drowned. His body was found around 4.30 am.

The Yogi Adityanath government has formed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the circumstances leading to Yuvraj's death. The state government has also shunted out IAS officer Lokesh M as the Noida Authority's CEO and placed him on a waitlist.

The victim's father has questioned the absence of barricades and reflectors near the ditch and demanded strict action so that "nobody else loses their son like this".

Real Estate Firm Claims No Role

Earlier, an FIR was registered against real estate developers M/s Wishtown Planners and Lotus Greens following a complaint by the techie's father. Lotus Greens has now claimed that it has no role as the plot was transferred in 2019-20 to Grihapravesh Group with the approval of Noida Authority.

"... Lotus Greens has shown extreme concern about the incident and being a responsible company, we fully condemn this incident. But unfortunately, Lotus Greens has no role to play because the said plot was transferred in 2019-20 to Mr Abhay Kumar and others of Grihapravesh Group with the approval of Noida Authority and they are the current directors of the entity holding the plot," the real estate group said in a statement.

"They have started the basement work in the said plot, but subsequently, the work was stalled. They also started litigation with their lenders. We understand the family's pain and we are standing with them in getting justice," a spokesperson added.

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