Survivor of Noida signage board crash yet to get govt help
The authority is yet to provide financial assistance to 26-year-old Pushpender who is battling for his life after being critically injured when a signage board of the Noida authority crashed on him.
The authority is yet to provide financial assistance to 26-year-old Pushpender who is battling for his life after being critically injured when a signage board of the Noida authority crashed on him.
Munna Kumar, who was accompanying Pushpender, had died in the incident, which took place during a dust storm on Monday evening in Sector 18. Pushpender survived with multiple injuries.
The only bread winner for a family of four, Pushpender has been living with his wife, 3-year-old daughter and one-year-old son at Palla in Faridabad. He works as an AC mechanic and was on his way with his associate, Munna Kumar, to fix a customer’s AC when the incident took place.
Pushpender’s family has so far got only assurances from the authorities. “A Lekhpal from the Tehsil office visited us on Tuesday and took down some details about the incident. We conveyed to him that the hospital administration has been asking us to deposit money for Pushpender’s treatment. We cannot afford treatment at a private hospital. It is the police that got my nephew admitted to this hospital,” Kamal Singh Chauhan, Pushpender’s maternal uncle, said.
He said that the city magistrate of Noida visited his family only after Union home minister Rajnath Singh had called him about the incident. “The magistrate assured all possible help. He said we need not worry about the hospital bills but we are yet to get any relief,” Chauhan said.
The staff attending to the victim in the ICU of Max Hospital said his vital organs in the abdomen are badly injured. “He came here with severe abdominal injuries, affecting his spleen and liver. He has been operated upon but he is still in a bad shape. We are hoping he pulls through,” a staff at Max Hospital said.
Pushpender’s family is also keeping its fingers crossed. “The doctors say that he is still critical. He was operated upon on Monday evening. Since then, doctors have transfused several units of blood to him. We are praying to God for his fast recovery,” Nathu Singh, Pushpender’s father, said.
District magistrate NP Singh said he directed the superintendent of police (city) to hasten the police probe to fix accountability. “I have told the SP (city) to find out if the incident took place due to the negligence of an agency or due to natural reasons. This will help in providing financial assistance to the injured as well as the family of the deceased,” he said.
Pushpender’s family had filed an FIR at the Sector 20 police station on Tuesday.
The Noida authority has set up a committee to probe the incident while the district magistrate has asked the authority to send a team of engineers to check the structural strength of all signage boards on city roads.