TWO CONSTABLES ARRESTED FOR BEATING UP TRUCK DRIVER, TAKING A BRIBE FROM HIM
GREATER NOIDA: Two policemen were arrested on Saturday for allegedly beating up a truck driver and snatching ₹400 from him on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. The policemen, deployed on the expressway under the jurisdiction of Kasna police station, were identified as constables Tara Chand and Gyan Singh.
The truck driver, Arvind Saini, is a resident of Sikar, Rajasthan. Saini said that he ferries cattle from Rajasthan to Meerut in a truck via the expressway.
“On Saturday, I was on my way to Meerut in the truck when the two policemen stopped me near Sirsa toll plaza at 6.30am. It is an unwritten norm that they illegally seek money from truck drivers. So I gave them ₹400. However, they appeared unhappy and demanded ₹4,000 from me. When I expressed my inability to pay more, they grabbed me and started beating me,” he said.
Saini said that he was beaten up so badly that he needed medical treatment. He also made a video of the injuries he sustained. He then informed his employer, who advised Saini to file a complaint. Saini then filed a complaint at Kasna police station against the two constables.
Sudhir Kumar, station house officer, Kasna police station, said a case has been registered against the two constables under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 7 of The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
“The matter is being investigated by Brijnanda Rai, assistant commissioner of police (3), Greater Noida,” he said.
Rai said that the two constables were arrested. “They were produced in court and sent to judicial custody. Saini has alleged that he was extorted by the policemen. The matter is being probed,” he said.
GHAZIABAD: The Ghaziabad municipal corporation has initiated work to improve the air quality of the city using funds worth ₹60.5 crore allotted by the fifteenth finance commission. The funds were approved in December last year.
However, it is unlikely that residents will feel the effect of the project this winter season as, according to officials, it is likely to be completed only by the end of the current financial year or, at the earliest, the end of December this year.
Every year, during the winter season, the district usually sees a spike in air pollution.
Officials of the corporation said that the fifteenth finance commission had allotted ₹121 crore last year for air quality improvement and solid waste management, and they will devote equal amounts -- ₹60.5 crore each to both.
A district-level committee of officers has also approved the plan under which the Ghaziabad municipal corporation gave its nod to detailed infrastructure improvement measures.
“We have completed all the tenders for air quality improvement, and several work orders have also been issued. More work orders will be awarded soon. The works are likely to be completed by the end of the current financial year, but we are expediting projects and it is likely that we may complete these by end of December this year,” said MS Tanwar, municipal commissioner.
To improve air quality, the corporation plans to pave dusty road patches with greenery and stones and add more greenery to 200 existing parks.
The corporation will also devote funds to develop a city forest on 32 acres of land near the New Bus Adda Metro station.
Ghaziabad will get 30 big air filters, which the corporation has decided to install in major markets and commercial areas to help reduce pollution. The corporation also plans to procure six more anti-smog guns, each with a capacity of 6,000 litres.
“We are also initiating a project in Vasundhara zone, which comprises localities such as Kaushambi and Vaishali. Under the pilot project, we plan to introduce e-vehicles for the lifting and transportation of daily solid waste. So, this will also improve conditions,” Tanwar added.
However, the project has already been delayed due to the pandemic situation.
According to government data, Ghaziabad is listed among 16 non-attainment cities in Uttar Pradesh with high levels of air pollution.
Cities are declared non-attainment if, over a five-year period, they consistently do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM10 or NO2 (nitrogen dioxide).
“This year, too, we are in the process of chalking out the action plan for winter and will add more pollution hotspots to the existing list. We also plan to prosecute contractors who have not completed infrastructure works such as road repair and construction on time. Such incomplete works are aiding air pollution,” said Utsav Sharma, regional office of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board.
Environmentalists said the delays are a regular feature of plans. “If the works are going to be completed by the end of the financial year or even by December this year, there will be no relief from air pollution this winter either. Ghaziabad has been recording high air quality index readings in the severe category for the past several winters. External factors such as stubble burning will also aid pollution,” said Akash Vashishtha, a citybased environmentalist.
SAKIB ALI /HT PHOTO
municipal commissioner, Ghaziabad