The Yamuna Expressway has seen several accidents in the past few years. (Express photo: Gajendra Yadav)Two men riding a Royal Enfield died after falling 30 feet from a bridge on the Yamuna Expressway early Tuesday morning. The victims, Pallav Gaur (48) and Gaurav Chauhan (32), were heading to Noida from Agra when the accident took place at the ‘zero point’, where the expressway ends.
“We received information that two bodies were found by passersby near zero point. It appears that the bike crossed the divider and rammed into the side of the flyover, flinging the two riders off the bridge. Both were declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital,” said an officer from Knowledge Park police station.
Both men worked in the sales department of a private firm and were heading to Noida for work. While Pallav hailed from Agra, Gaurav was a resident of Aligarh.
The family of one of the men alleged there was a delay in providing them first aid. “It will take the death of a politician for authorities to wake up to this problem. Every day, people die on this route but no changes are made. There is such a sharp turn at the end of the Expressway… It is hard for us to process what has happened,” said Pallav’s son Ketan.
Gaurav is survived by his wife and a daughter, who is less than a year old. The bodies have been handed over to the family after post-mortem. The bike, owned by Pallav, had been purchased three months ago.
The Yamuna Expressway has seen several accidents in the past few years. Last month, a Ford Endeavour skidded off the Expressway in Greater Noida at zero point, killing four IT professionals and injuring five. The victims were out for a drive in the new SUV when the incident took place. In April, eight people died and 24 were injured after a bus rammed into a truck at the Expressway early in the morning. The bus was allegedly speeding and the driver fell asleep.
A safety audit of the Yamuna Expressway was conducted by IIT-Delhi in August 2018 and suggestions were submitted to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority in May 2019. A few days ago, YEIDA directed Jaypee Infratech Limited to implement the changes to make the Expressway safer.
