Noida authority to inspect unipoles across city

NOIDA: Four days after a unipole (hoardings and banners mounted on a single magnetic or electrical pole) collapsed in Sector 62 near Model Town underpass and badly damaged a car on Sunday, the Noida authority on Thursday decided to identify all the unipoles across the city and find out if the foundation of these structures is stable or not. It will also remove unipoles which have been installed without permission from the authorities.

CEO of Noida authority Ritu Maheshwari has directed officer on special duty Indu Prakash Singh to look into the issue and submit a report in a week, said officials in the know of the matter. There are at least 43 unipoles across the city, which have been put in place after seeking permission from the authority.

“We will check the foundation of each unipole... We will ensure only the unipoles with a strong foundation find place in the city. Any unipole with a weak foundation will be immediately removed. We will direct the companies to ensure that the unipoles they install have a strong foundation,” said Singh.

The authority will also act against the unauthorised unipoles put by political parties, private companies and leaders without permission. “We remove unauthorised unipoles from the roads as soon as such structures come to our notice. We take prompt action whenever we receive a complaint about a unipole, which has been put in place illegally,” said Singh.

Apart from the 43 unipoles, there are total 133 licensed unipoles installed at public toilets across the city.

“The authority must check the unipoles installed at public toilets as weak foundation of the structures may lead to accidents,” said Sunil Kumar, a resident of Sector 135.