Student Drowns After Exam Celebration

A 23-year-old student, Harshit Bhatt, lost his life after drowning in a water-filled pit in Noida's Sector 94 on Wednesday afternoon. Bhatt, a physical education student, was celebrating the completion of his sixth-semester exams with three friends near a large pit on the site of a stalled convention center project. The project, halted since 2022, had its tender cancelled due to illegal soil excavation by a third party. The students reportedly entered the site through a broken boundary wall.

The group decided to swim around 3:30 PM. Bhatt entered the water first and, while venturing towards the center, began to drown due to the pit's unexpected depth and marshy sludge. A friend's rescue attempt was thwarted by a marshy patch. Authorities, including NDRF and SDRF, recovered Bhatt's body and he was later declared dead at a hospital. Police are examining all aspects, including potential intoxication indicated by beer cans and liquor bottles found at the scene. This incident tragically echoes a similar drowning in Sector 150 earlier this year, raising concerns about construction site safety.