UP nahin dekha toh India nahin dekha! We aren’t saying this, Uttar Pradesh boasts of this tagline for its tourism. While tourism has been promoted jor-shor se in the state, the reality of roads in some areas can’t be ignored. 

A recent incident from UP’s Aligarh has come into light which is raising somequestions about the state of affairs in the region.

A viral clip posted by @suryapsingh_IAS on Twitter shows a quite congested and waterlogged parking area after heavy rainfall. A couple riding a scooter can be seen entering the parking. In no time, they are hit by something and then swallowed by an open drain. Like literally, their whole bodies are inside the water along with the two-wheeler. People on the spot then rush to rescue them.

“UP ka smart city Aligarh, kise dhanyawad dein (UP’s smart city Aligarh, who should we thank for this)?” the tweet reads.

Identified as Dayanand Singh, the policeman and his wife were going to a hospital in Aligarh when the accident took place, NDTV reported. They escaped with some injuries, the report added.

We were on the scooter and were going to a hospital. Since the drain was open and inundated due to rainwater, we didn’t come to know about it and fell into it along with the scooter. We both sustained some injuries

-Dayanand Singh

Netizens has this to say after watching the clip:

-Nes Tijiba

Aligarh is touted as one of the 13 smart cities identified in Uttar Pradesh. As per the official government website My Gov, establishment of sewage treatment plant is one such mission that comes under the government’s smart city plan. Launched in 2015, the National Smart Cities Mission is an Indian government initiative to convert 100 cities of India into smart cities.