Officials make Dadri ‘ready’ for CM’S visit
GREATER NOIDA: Some members of the Rajput community have announced that they will protest against Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath during his visit to Greater Noida’s Dadri on Wednesday, when he comes to unveil a statue of ninth-century king Mihir Bhoj, whom the community claims was a Rajput, and not a Gurjar. Their demand is that the word “Gurjar” must therefore be removed from the statue’s plaque.
Elders of both Gurjar and Rajput communities have discussed the contentious issue and agreed to a show of unity during Adityanath’s visit, but some disgruntled members continued with their protest on Tuesday.
While the Noida police has made adequate security arrangements, members of the Rajput community have threatened nationwide protests if the text on the plaque isn’t changed. “Police have threatened our members and asked us not to protest. They said if we protest, our members will have to face the consequences,” said Prithvi Singh, national secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha.
Gautam Budh Nagar police commissioner Alok Singh was unavailable for comment on the matter. According to the CM’S schedule, he will arrive at Greater Noida’s Expo Mart around 10am. He will reach Dadri around 11am to unveil the statue at Mihir Bhoj Degree College. He will also inaugurate a higher secondary school and a “sadbhav mandap (community centre)” before leaving for Dhaulana in Hapur to inaugurate multiple development projects there. The chief minister is on a two-day visit to western Uttar Pradesh cities, including Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Hapur and Moradabad, among others.
Ahead of Adityanath’s visit, the Noida authority sealed offices and clubhouse buildings inside group housing projects of 11 realtors in different sectors, including 74, 75, 78 and 107.
“We have sealed the office spaces and club buildings, which are controlled by the realtors in these 11 projects because the developers are violating the National Green Tribunal orders. Either they have not set up sewage treatment plants (STPS), or the STPS are non-functional, thereby dumping untreated sewage into city drains which eventually pollutes rivers,” said Mukesh Vaish, senior manager, Noida authority.
“This action should have been taken long ago...” said Amit Gupta, member of Progressive Community Foundation, a residents’ group.