Dwarka: Open gyms in dire need of maintenance; damaged equipment hurt users

Due to the lack of proper maintenance, the open air gyms installed in the parks are suffering a lot in Dwarka. The concerned authorities like Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) are clearly ignorant about the open gyms.

The equipment are getting damaged and users are getting hurt while using them. There are also equipment which are not working at all. Hence, they are not being used by people.

There are hundreds of such kind of gyms all across the city. People are getting dissuaded to use the open gyms.

People said that the authorities never do inspection of the site to check whether the equipment are working properly.

Manoj Mishra, a resident of Radhika Apartments in Sector 14 said, “There is an open air gym in the SDMC park behind our society. For more than a year, 2-3 equipment are in damaged state. People somehow manage to use them. There should be proper maintenance.

It was found that the cross trainer and wheel machines are in damaged state. Three shoulder exercise machines have also been damaged. Damaged machines can easily be seen in the parks at sectors 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 19 etc.

Alka Sharma, a resident of Sector 9 said, “I use the gym at the DFA park. I got hurt while using the swing machine because it was loose. The pedestal of the cross trainer was loose. I somehow using it. But, I got myself hurt in the process. I don’t know where to raise this problem. These should get repaired at the earliest.”

Number of gyms has increased in the city. According to sources, more than hundred gyms are there in the public parks. But the maintenance of the gyms is still a big question in front of the community and also the authority.

On being asked about maintenance, a DDA official said on the condition of anonymity, “The DDA has installed such gyms in the city earlier. It was done through a company. That company should have also taken care of the maintenance of the open gyms.”

As per them, three years have gone and there are no agency which has been given the responsibility of maintenance. “We act on the complaints but there is no proper system where responsibility is bestowed on any agency for maintenance,” said an official of SDMC on the condition of anonymity.

As people are in the habit of using open gyms, they perform exercises on the damaged equipment. The open gyms have become part of the lifestyle of people. Amidst this, a system for proper maintenance should have in place.

Gaur City resident falls prey to ATM card cloning; loses Rs 40,000

In yet another case of ATM card fraud, a resident of Gaur City in Noida Extension, has filed a police complaint that a fraudster had withdrawn an amount of Rs 40,000 by cloning his ATM card.

According to police, the victim has been identified as Anuj Saini and work in a private company in Sector 63.

 

“The victim told the police that he has his salary account in ICICI Bank in Sector 63. On last Wednesday night, when he was going to his house from office, he withdrew some money from a Sector 62 ATM machine. When he reached his house, he received four messages of withdrawal of money of Rs 40,000. He immediately blocked his account,” said Manoj Kumar Pathak, Bisrakh police station.

“At the time the transaction took place, Saini had over Rs 14 lakhs in his account,” added the police.

Meanwhile, Saini has also told the police that after enquiring about the matter on his how own, he came to know that the money withdrawal took place from Haryana area.

On the basis of complaint, an FIR has been lodged against an unknown person under the IPC section of 420 (cheating) and the case would be referred to cyber cell for further investigation.

“Youngsters should be aware of how cyber-crime happens. Before using their ATM or credit card in any restaurant or shop, they should always check that card swiping machine looks alright. Make sure that there is nothing attached to it which can be used to clone your card,” said Pathak.

Raj Nagar Extn: Presidium school management retains same name; parents relieved!

After keeping the parents in dizzy for more than a week, the Raj Nagar Extension branch of Presidium School has seemed to resolve its internal matter. On Friday, a letter came from the school management intimating their decision of retaining the name of the school as Presidium in place of Prudence. 

"The school was renamed to Prudence without our consent and we were informed through a circular post-Holi," a parent said on the condition of anonymity.

Ghaziabad News

The parents had objected to the change. “We suddenly get to know our children are studying in a school with an unknown name,” a parent told City Spidey.

On March 21, the guardians of students at Presidium, Raj Nagar Extension were informed through a circular the school was dissociating from the name ‘Presidium’ and changing it into ‘Prudence’. The circular had stated the decision was taken due to the "failure of the Presidium management to deliver standards commensurate with their professed vision of providing excellence in education".

The circular was signed by Shraddha Agarwal, vice principal (VP) of the school. It also mentioned GS Matharoo, who was part of the management team of the Presidium group in the role of an advisor. In the circular, his designation read ‘Chairman of Prudence’. However, the chairman of Presidium Schools and founder of Mother's Pride a chain of playschools is Sudha Gupta.

We tried to contact Matharoo and Gupta several times but our multiple calls went unanswered. City Spidey's correspondent went to the school too but it was found locked.

A sigh of relief for parents!

The unreachability of the staff for communication had further agitated the parents. "Now I can relax. I was worried as I had already paid the fees for the first quarter and was unsure whether to keep my ward in the school or not," a parent said.

Moreover, many parents had started searching for admission of their wards in other schools "Nobody knows Prudence while Presidium is a brand. Even if I retain my daughter's admission, I was not ready to pay the same fees as charged by Presidium," Shraddha Srivastava, a parent told City Spidey. 

However, parents who didn't want to continue their wards' studies with Prudence, faced difficulty in finding seats in other schools. "New batch has already started and seats were full in all reputed schools," said Shivalika Singh, a parent.

Speculations

Meanwhile, due to lack of communication with the management, rumours were rife the decision was a result of internal conflict between the board members. Many also said the move was aimed at averting the payment to the investors in an alleged Ponzi scheme run by the school authority.

Many parents who had invested huge money in the school have stopped receiving interest from the school for a few months now, they claimed on the condition of anonymity.

According to the parents, the school had offered them to invest money and get an interest amount on their capital every month till their ward is studying in the school. They were also offered to avail free education of their ward in return for the investment. "The whole capital would be withdrawn once my ward completes the schooling," a parent who invested over Rs 20 lakh claimed. 

City Spidey tried repeatedly to take the version of the school regarding the issue but the calls went unanswered. However, VP Shraddha Agarwal did came on call but she refused to comment on the matter.

GreNo West: Issues galore plague AOA formation at Panchsheel Greens

Amid conflict between various factions of residents and builder at Panchsheel Greens, a highrise in Greater Noida West, there is no clarity over the election of Apartment Owners Association (AOA) in the society.

The top management of the society (builder) was of the view that residents must conduct election as soon as possible and take handover. Contrary to that, residents say they are not getting full cooperation from the builder to complete the election process.

Talking to City Spidey, Anuj Chowdhary, director (Panchsheel Group) said that conflict between different factions of residents and dues of maintenance charges has caused delay in the AOA election.

“Around 200 flat owners have paid their maintenance charges but it is less than half of the total number of flats. The management had partially withdrawn services only because maintenance charges are due from last 6 months. Now, we have decided not to continue services after March 31. We have asked residents to elect AOA and take handover of the management facility,” Chowdhary added.

But, it is not the only reason which is causing delay in AOA election. The election committee (EC) was to conduct the election but they are yet to receive final voter list from the management.

Piyush Kaushal, a resident, who is one of the EC member, talking to City Spidey said, “It’s been nearly six months we have been working on it. We are given task to conduct fair election but how is it possible when the required documents are not available. From last six weeks, we have been spending our valuable time for preparation.”

Mode of payment to the management have been another reason for conflict. The management said that payments will be acceptable only by cheque. However, the residents are of the view that the management should accept payment online also.

There are also many flat owners who have flats in Panchsheel Greens but they live outside the city. They have been complaining about the mode of payment.

Manoj Girla, who is a flat owner but lives in Mumbai said, “Today, I called the management to enquire about the maintenance charge. I was told to pay through cheque. I am unable to understand why they are not accepting online payments. Earlier, they used to accept online payments. Should I visit Greater Noida West only to make payment for maintenance charge? This is completely illogical.”

When asked on this issue, Anuj Chowdhary replied, “We are not demanding advance maintenance charges because we have decided not to continue services after March 31. We are demanding our dues and don’t think payment through cheque is a big issue. Those living outside can deposit their cheque via courier.”

It is bit surprising that the process for forming AOA have been in the news since October last year. As it was reported earlier, the date of March 3 was fixed for election. However, dues of maintenance charges became obstacle and the election went into backburner.

Amit Yadav, a resident said, “The management say they are not withholding election then why they have not handed over final voter list and money to conduct the election. All the flat owners have paid Rs 1000 for formation of AOA during the possession of flats. That money should be given to EC for election expenses.”

Another major conflict is the proposal which says that weightage of votes should vary according to the floor area ratio of the flats. Like, if an apartment’s floor area ratio is bigger, then the weightage of the votes should also be higher. One group says election should be conducted complying rules prescribed under the UP Apartment Act which clearly mention floor area ratio.

It was also informed that General Body Meeting (GBM) would possibly be held on coming Sunday to discuss the issue.

However, it is also not clear whether the GBM will be held on that day or not. The meeting hall, where GBM used to happen, has been already booked for other purpose. However, residents said, “GBM must be held so that a final decision can be taken. If hall is already booked for another function then GBM can be held in part area.”

Gurugram: Residents of Sushant Lok 2, 3 meet MLA; submit memo

Residents of Sushant Lok Phase 2 and 3, along with former RWA chief Joginder Singh on Friday evening met the member of legislative assembly (MLA) Tejpal Tanwar and submitted a memorandum, demanding to give the handover of the colony to the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG). 

According to a report published in jagran.com, People of the area alleged the builder has completely stopped the maintenance work despite paying monthly fees. As a result, they are facing trouble to get daily services.

 Gurugram News

Advocate Manish Shandilya, Amar Jindal, Neeraj Kumar, Rajendra Mittal including former RWA chief Joginder Singh said the MCG has taken 8 colonies including DLF under its jurisdiction. They stated the situation of these two phases is becoming worse. 

They further cited that Ansal got the license 25 years ago whereas according to act, it is mandatory for every coloniser to develop the colony and hand it over to the corporation within 5 years. But the builder neither followed the set norms nor did he take the completion certificate of the colony.

Residents of the area now hope through submitting this memorandum, the process of handing over the colony to the municipal corporation will be expedited. 

Dwarka: SDMC's claim to make Sec 22, 23 model sectors in waste mgmt falls flat

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), in the presence of hundreds of representatives from resident welfare associations (RWAs) and management of various societies across the sub-city made an announcement through the leader of the house, Kamaljeet Sehrawat and the then deputy commissioner of the corporation, Najafgarh zone that Sector 22 and 23 would be made model sectors as far as waste management is concerned. But sadly, it has been more than 5 months and nothing concrete or fruitful can be seen at the ground level.

In a public meet held at SDMC community hall on October 4 last year, the civic body concerned assured that within three days, both these sectors would see big change taking place on waste management with proper segregation and composting. Besides, a review meeting was held too in this regard but people of the area alleged that no initiatives, actions have taken place yet.

M S Suri, vice president of New Millennium Apartments (Sector 23) said, “We sensitised our society people on the subject and started segregation work too. But we noticed the corporation people, strangely, were not cooperative. Their approach still remains the same and this shows the big claims made by them were just lip service because the reality is something different.”

However, the corporation has claimed to have made at least 50 composting pits in the neighbourhood parks for community composting but the dedicated infra is not in proper use due to mismanaged segregation and constant opposition by locals. 

S L Langar, president of Green Tower Apartments (Sector 23) said, “There is one change that I have witnessed personally and that is when we call them, they do the work. I mean, they clear the spot and make it garbage-free. They are prompt in that sense but on the whole, the idea of waste management is still to become a success here.”

Residents further added the RWAs and management of several societies were ready to follow all the rules in order to make it a successful initiative but the response shown by the SDMC was not enthusiastic as far as the output was concerned.

DC Mathur, a resident of New Kanchanjunga Apartments and general secretary of Sukh Dukh Ke Sathi Sanstha, said, "This was just an announcement like any other made previously. I mean, we asked the officials of the civic body concerned to start it in at least 4 societies as a pilot project. We assured them to cooperate to make it a grand success but that could not happen due to their callous approach."

People of the area opined that SDMC should adopt a very serious approach so that waste management does not seem to be a 'distant dream' in these sectors or in general across Dwarka in the future.

I’puram: Ahinsa Khand II residents carry out cleanliness drive

To contribute to the upkeep of their locality, a few residents of Ahinsa Khand II (AK II), Indirapuram, took out a cleanliness drive on early Saturday morning.

The drive started at 7 am from Niho Scottish Garden and was taken till Shanti Gopal Hospital, a stretch of more than a kilometer. It went on till 10 am. However, the organisers of the campaign were left disappointed as the turnout was dismal.

Besides, cleaning the roads and boundary walls on their own, the residents also assisted the sanitation staff assigned by Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA).

The residents also caught a few overloaded trolleys that were carrying excavated mud uncovered and did not even have a license plate. "We made them cover the load and warned them to not repeat this from next time," told Surabhi Gupta, vice president of Bharat Residency, a high-rise in AK II.

However, despite giving prior information and repeated reminders, the turnout was hugely low. “Barely seven to eight people came for this cause,” informed Gupta.

Noida: 30-year-old man jumps to death from high-rise apartment

In yet another case of death in high-rises in Noida, a 30-year-old man's body was found lying beside S tower of Homes 121 in Sector 121 on Saturday. The incident happened early morning when a few inhabitants of the society heard a loud noise while they were taking a walk in the morning at the residential campus. 

They immediately informed the police regarding the incident. The cops reached shortly and while scanning the deceased's body, they found an Aadhar card in his pocket. According to the address mentioned on the card, he was identified as Ravi Heliwal, a resident of Dhanbad in Jharkhand.

It has been found that Ravi, a software engineering by profession, was working with a private networking and telecommunication company in Noida. He was currently working in the night shift and wasn't happy about it.  He had even asked for leave on Saturday. noida news

According to his friends residing with him, Ravi came to his home at 10 PM on Friday. But when his friends woke up in the morning, they didn’t find him in the room.

According to the investigation, the cops were informed that Ravi along with his friends had been staying in the society from the last two months. They were staying in P tower of the society but his body was found below S tower. 

The matter is under investigation by the Phase-III police station of Noida.

Greater Noida man jumps to death from 16th floor of Nirala Estate

A man died after falling from a highrise in Greater Noida West on Tuesday evening. According to police, the deceased, identified as 35-year-old Mohan Sidhaniya, jumped from 16th floor of Nirala Estate, a multi-storey society in Greater Noida West.

Police said the incident was reported between 11:30 pm and 12 am after security guards heard some loud noise in block 4 of the society. As City Spidey was informed, Sidhaniya, was residing in his sister’s flat number 1608/4 in the Nirala Estate.

In the preliminary investigation, Greater Noida Police found that Sidhaniya was suffering from depression as he had a dispute with his wife from the last couple of years.

“Last night he visited his sister’s flat where he drunk and later jumped from the balcony. We received the complaint and rushed to the spot. The body was sent to postmortem and further investigation is on run. Family dispute is suspected to be the reason behind taking such extreme step,” said a senior police official from Bisrakh police station. 

Residents in great shock for repeated wall collapse at Fusion Homes

When you buy a flat at the high rise, you always expect that you are moving to a location where you will live blissfully. But when it goes in the opposite direction, your dreams get shattered. See what has just happened at the Fusion Homes in Greater Noida West.

A wall which was erected within the society has just fallen leaving the residents full of worry. They are now uncertain about their future. If this is the quality of construction, then anything can happen.

In panicked state, the residents described the incident. Most of them, who have just moved to the newly-built society of 7-8 months old, voiced their concern describing the incident.

The residents said that they are fortunate that nobody was hurt during the incident but that could be just a coincidence. “We have been exposed to a eminent danger. It is a sheer luck that we escaped. Anything could have happened,” Dheeraj Singh, a resident living inside the society said.

In came a gentleman, he said that he saw the incident happening. “There was a sudden thud and everybody turned towards the sound. Everyone rushed to spot only to find that the wall was scattered all over the ground. People started to gather around the spot. Soon, people informed the authority about the incident,” said Prateek Srivastava.

What is worse that this was not the first time that a wall has fallen inside the society. Four to five months back, another wall fell down. The repeated incidents have left the people in great shock. They are now deciding the future course of action.

GreNo: Two men accused of torching own factory to claim insurance held

In a crime-related incident, the local police on Wednesday arrested two men for allegedly setting their own factory on fire in order to claim the insurance money.

The accused have been identified as Sayyed Mujahid Askari, a native of Omaxe Royal Residency in Sector 44, Noida and Singh Raj, a native of Sector Delta 1, Greater Noida. They used to run a syringe manufacturing factory named SRS Meditech on a rented premise, located in Kasna's industrial area, till October 2018 when it gutted due to a fire incident.

However, the owner of the premises called it a plotted mishap. He alleged both the accused of not paying the rent amount. Instead, in order to get the insurance money, which sums up to Rs 75 crore, the accused allegedly set it ablaze, in which two persons died.

"During the investigation, we came to know the accused failed to pay Rs 7 lakh per month as rent to the owner. They threatened him following which they allegedly shifted all the expensive machines and tools from the factory to another place before setting it on fire. We sent both of them to prison but they came out on bail,” said Muneesh Chauhan, SHO, Surajpur.

Both the accused were issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) by the court for not appearing on the day of hearing of the case.

“The accused missed the hearing of the case against them on multiple occasions after which NBWs were issued against them. They have been booked under Section 420 (Cheating), 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), 436 (Mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code,” Chauhan concluded.

Burning of waste continues unabated in Dwarka

Even though the summer is yet to set in, the burning of dry horticulture waste and leaves has already started in many areas of Dwarka.

Despite several initiatives taken by authorities and activists to curb such malpractice, the story remains same every year. The residents say that such incidents are very common in parks, vacant plots and even by the roadside.

Recently, a fire incident was reported inside Bharat Vandana Park in Sector 20 for which even fire brigade had to be called in. Madhu Dagar, a resident of Crescent Apartments in Sector 18A who has been raising this issue with the authorities, said, “No one is bothered about it as if it is not a serious issue. The authorities are not taking any effective steps to control such fires which is extremely sad.”

The residents say this illegal burning of waste is further deteriorating the already damaged environment and adding to air pollution. The burning of leaves injects toxic smoke in the open areas creating respiratory problems for morning walkers. SK Malik, a resident of Youngster Apartments in Sector 6, shared, “I have been following up on this topic for some time now. Even people living in societies and civic bodies burn waste. Slum residents and villagers burn plant waste when it is not lifted by SDMC. This should be taken seriously.”

Experts say that such incidents are a clear violation of the Tree Act, the Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2000 and the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) which prohibits burning of leaves.

Though South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has banned such activities in its area, the problem continues. In 2014, then commissioner of SDMC, Dr Puneet Goel, had issued notifications banning burning of all dry leaves, horticulture waste, household waste, garbage and other waste. Zonal deputy commissioners and employees were given the responsibility to check that such things don’t happen.

But since then, nothing effective has been done. Year after year, these incidents have only been on the rise. Rejimon CK, a member of Dwarka Forum and a resident of Nav Sansad Vihar in Sector 22, said, “The whole system has completely failed in stopping such wrong practice. Last year, Sunita Narayan, chief of Centre for Science and Environment had even tweeted about the grim situation in Dwarka and also raised it in the meeting of EPCC. But nothing positive has happened after that.”

When contacted on the issue, the officials of SDMC said that they are making efforts in the direction. Clearly, those efforts aren’t enough.

Overflowing sewer water affects residents of Dwarka sector 8

Poor civic redress troubles residents of Dwarka sector 8. A road near Malaria Institute has been in the pathetic condition from the last four months, causing a major problem for the daily commuters because of the sewer water.

The path, which also connects a local market with the sector is filled with sewer water and none of the civic bodies has taken any action against it despite the area is having an institute, bank, few chemist shops among residential buildings.

Gulshan Kumar Ahuja, a shopkeeper from Apna Chemist in the market, said, “The entire sewer line in the area is chocked. The problem has been there from the last two years but these four months have been unbearable for us. We have a complaint about the subject but nothing has happened yet.”

People in the area said that their issue is stuck between the civic bodies like DDA and municipal corporation.

Gurugram: 70 unrecognised schools face shutdown by March 31

In a crackdown on unrecognized private schools in Gurugram, as many as 70 such schools may not be able to start their new academic session from the next month if they fail to comply with norms required to be fulfilled for recognition by March 31.

According to a report published in Hindustan Times, the department of education has made it clear that unrecognised schools will face shut down from the forthcoming academic session that starts on April 1.

A list of 1,083 schools across Haryana was released earlier this month by the department of education, which did not meet recognition norms. Around 92 schools out of these fall in the district.

Following the release of the list, a show-cause notice was also issued to all the 92 schools earlier this month, added the department officials. Gurugram News

On Wednesday, the district elementary education officer held a meeting with school representatives asking them to share their concerns regarding the recognition process.

Premlata Yadav, district elementary education officer, said, “All unrecognised schools in the district were given a chance to present their case before the department. Out of these, five to six schools were able to prove that they have fulfilled the norms required for getting recognition. However, the remaining schools will not be allowed to run after March 31.”

After all the corrections, 70 schools were found not complying with the recognition norms, Yadav added. “These schools need to submit the necessary documents and get recognition by end of the month or else they will be forcefully shut.”

Holding parents also responsible for the situation, Yadav said that it was essential for parents to check the credentials of the school before getting their children enrolled in them. “Parents should do a background check of the school and find out if it fulfils the norms mandated by the department. They should not get their children admitted in school that is not recognised by the department,” she added.

Tyre killer at Noida’s Sector 41-50 U-turn damaged

The much-hyped tyre killers that were recently installed at Noida’s Sector 41-50 U-turn to curb wrong-side driving have been damaged.

The Noida Authority claimed that they have been tempered with so that offenders can continue violating the traffic rules. But the residents say that they were of faulty design and had increased the risk of accidents and damage to low-floor cars.

Noida News

Two tyre killer were installed in Noida — one near Capetown on the road between Sectors 74 and 77 and the other one at the U-turn of Sector 41-50. In future, there are plans to install tyre killers at Sector 77 North Eye junction, Sector 76 metro station, Sai Mandir U-turn at Sector 61 and near Sector 16A flyover.

Local residents were exasperated that the Noida Authority had not installed them properly as they claimed that spikes on the killers pointed in the w­rong direction, which could lead to accidents. “Tyre killer were not installed professionally. They were broken at points and could cause accident and injury to people. The authority should either do it professionally or not do it all,” said Sumit Kumar, a daily commuter.

"They should be reinstalled by fixing them under the road so that low-floor cars don’t get damaged,” he added.

PK Garg, project engineer of Noida Authority, said that the repair work of tyre killer will soon start. "Noida Authority had spent lakhs of money on the installation of these tyre killers. This time we will repair it keeping in mind that no complaints arise in future,” he added.

Pune was the first Indian city to have installed tyre killers. But they were soon removed as they reportedly became a threat to public safety — causing accidents as deflated tyres caused drivers to lose control — than a deterrent against wrong-side driving.

Tyre killers are essentially metal strips that acts as speed breaker for those driving on the right side. But if someone is driving on the wrong side, then its spring-operated spikes puncture the tyres of vehicles.

Supertech Capetown builder fined for flouting pollution norms

The builders of Supertech Capetown, a high-rise in Noida’s Sector 74, has been sent a notice by the Noida Authority and also fined Rs 30,000 for throwing the society waste into the green belt area.

According to the officials of Noida Authority, the builder is not following the guidelines of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on pollution in the city.

After receiving complaints from the residents that the builder was flouting the NGT guidelines, the officials had visited the high rise on March 17. “When we visited the spot, we found that the builder is throwing the society waste into the green belt area because of which air is getting polluted,” said a Noida Authority officer. noida news

“We had even found that the builder is not following the NGT rules at the construction site, for which they have been given a warning,” added the officer.

As per the NGT guidelines, a realtor, individual or contractor needs to abide by certain rules while undertaking any construction work. These include protection of vegetation around the site, sprinkling of water to settle the dust and covering of debris with a sheet to prevent the dust from spreading around.

The officials added that during the inspection, it was found that the construction work is still under way on some towers of the society.

“Though the construction work in the two societies has nearly finished, the builder hasn’t been using sheet to prevent dust from spreading around. Water sprinkling was also not being done at the site,” said the officials.

Meanwhile, the residents cheered the move. Sunita, a resident of the society, said that because of the increased dust and air pollution levels in the area, the residents have been facing respiratory problems.

The locals of the area claimed that the builders of Supertech group have always been flouting the rules.

“Some time back, a plot between Grand Ajnara Heritage and Capetown was chosen to build a park but the Supertech builder started throwing waste water into the area. The place soon turned into a breeding ground for mosquitoes and a nightmare for the nearby residents. After a lot of work and action from the residents and authorities, now the area has been changed into a beautiful park,” said Sanjay Singh, a resident of Grand Ajnara Heritage, a high rise in Sector 74.

The calls made to builders to seek a comment on the issue remain unanswered.

Noida man duped of Rs 1 lakh over holiday package

In yet another case of fraud, a resident of a high rise society in Noida Sector 75 was duped by a fraudster of Rs 1 lakh over providing an international holiday package.

According to police, the victim identified as 23-year-old Sumit Kumar is a resident of Aims Max Gardenia Golf city and is originally from Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh. 

 “Sumit told the police that he received a phone call on March 8 and caller introduced himself as Sunny Chopra from Tourist company, which provides a tour in foreign. He was looking for a tour online as well so the victim thinks that he may be applied for it,” the police said. 

In his complaint, the victim has mentioned that firstly the fraudster asked him to deposit a registration fees Rs 5000 online and Sumit immediately transferred the amount. Then the fraudster asked him to deposit more money for ticket and hotel bookings. 

noida news

This did not end here. The fraudster again asked money twice and he transferred the money into his account. And, then the fraudster claimed that he would send the itinerary shortly about the travel. 

“But when he did not receive any such things after two weeks then he calls on the same number but the number was switched off,” the police complaint read. 

Police said on the basis of the complaint they lodged an FIR against the unknown person under the IPC section of 420 (cheating) and the case will be referred to the cyber cell for the investigation. 

“Youth should understand what cybercrime is before investigating these things on a personal level, the youngster should not trust on these types of calls,” Ajay Kumar, SHO of Sector 49 police station. 

RESIDENT SPEAK: 'Green belt in Dwarka Sec 23 needs immediate attention'

The condition of the green belt in Sector 23 of the sub-city is really pathetic. Being a resident of the area, I get to see garbage scattered all around, making the area filthy and giving a stinking smell.

People from various societies across the sector, including me, have written several times to the civic body concerned regarding the matter. Besides, we also had meetings with their officials, requesting them to keep the area maintained.

Apart from this, we had sent them a proposal too to get involved with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), locals and resident welfare associations (RWAs) so that the work is done in an effective manner with the help of public participation but sadly, nothing has happened yet at the ground level.

DDA has the tender for the past one year but it is yet to carry out work. Therefore, I request the civic agency to look into the matter at the earliest in order to keep the green belt across the area well-maintained

Supertech to complete all housing projects across Noida, GreNo by March 2020

Good news for all the home buyers who have invested their hard earned money to book a flat in Supertech's projects and are waiting to get the handover of their dream home. The leading real estate group has decided to complete all of its housing projects in Noida and Greater Noida by March 2020.

If sources are to believed, Supertech, which is reeling under a huge financial crunch and relentless protest from the home buyers, has decided to sell its properties to generate revenue to complete the projects.

It has been informed the group has planned to sell out its properties in Noida, Meerut, Rudrapur and Haridwar for this purpose. noida news

As sources have claimed, the group, to begin with, has decided to complete one of its housing project- Supernova in Sector 94, Noida. Supernova was launched several years back but construction work was halted after 70 per cent work was completed.

The real estate group has also decided to complete its another housing project- Supertech Ecovillage. Out of 55 towers, around 15 towers with the same name were left incomplete in Greater Noida West.

As per the information provided to City Spidey, the group has developed around 8500 flats in Eco-Village 2 wherein nearly 2000 flat owners have been given the possession so far. 

“We will complete all the 15 towers between April 2019 and March 2020,” said Vikash Bansal, senior project manager of Ecovillage 2.

Bike-borne snatchers continue to create havoc in Noida Extension

Residents of Noida Extension have not got any relief from the ongoing snatching incidents in the area by the hyperactive bike-borne snatchers despite reporting several such incidents to the police in the last few months. 

Priyanka Singh, a resident of Paramount Emotion, is the latest victim. Her bag was snatched by the thief on Tuesday during the day time. 

"I was coming back to my society around 3 pm and was hardly half a kilometre away from the entrance gate of my society.  All of a sudden two persons on a bike drove close to me and run away with my bag," Singh told City Spidey.  

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Singh said she could not even realise that their intention as the place was quite crowded at that time.  

“A group of women were waiting for the school bus to drop their children and also there were five to six people standing at the gate. It happened in a fraction of second and that's why I  could not notice the number plate of the bike,” Singh added. 

Soon after the incident, Singh called the Bisrakh police to inform about the incident. “Two police personnel visited society and lodged a written complaint,” Singh added. 

Chandan Choudhary, another resident of Paramount Emotion said, “Snatching has become a regular affair here and residents of highrises are feeling insure even standing at the gate of their societies. It is horrible to know that snatchers are active in broad daylight and even at the gates. This show how police are inactive and putting residents’ lives in danger.”

Stray dogs terror returns; bite girl in GH-7, Crossings Republik

In yet another incident of stray attack, a thirteen-year-old girl was bitten by a pack of four dogs in GH-7, a high rise in Crossings Republik on Tuesday. She was bitten on her right hip.

The incident happened in the open area of Tower no 5 when the girl was going for her tuition classes at around 4 pm.

"Without any provocation, three to four stray dogs who were sitting in the park attacked the girl as soon as they saw her. They pinned her to the ground and bit her on the hip. A security guard overheard the girl screaming and rescued her from the dogs," told Rohit Chaudhary, president of society's RWA and one of the eyewitnesses to the incident.

For months now, dog bite incidents are on the rise in the society.

The victim’s father, Amitava Ghosh, is vice president of the society's RWA.

Talking to City Spidey, Ghosh said that his daughter is traumatized after the incident. "She is terrified. She keeps shivering and crying whole day,” he said. “As a father and as an RWA office bearer, I feel helpless. If I can’t protect my own child from these horrific attacks, how am I supposed to ensure safety of the rest of the residents.”

Chaudhary said that the residents have been facing terror of stray dogs for a long time now as every other week some incident like this is reported. "These attacks happen so frequently that parents have stopped their kids from playing in the ground," he added.

In November 2018, a seven-year-old boy of GH-7 was attacked twice within a span of three days by a stray dog. In the first incident, the boy escaped with deep scratches on his back but suffered a grade 3 bite on his thighs the second time.

Chaudhary blamed the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) for the mess. "After each incident, we call the agency appointed by GMC but first they come late. Second, they sterilize and vaccinate a few dogs leaving many others. But the vaccination and sterilization aren’t able to control such incidents,” he complained.

“More than 80 stray dogs are currently living in the society We can't even evict them as that is against the law. What shall we do then? We can’t let our children suffer,” Chaudhary said.

However, Sumedha Iyer, head of People For Animals (PFA) in Ghaziabad refuted these estimates. She claimed the count of treated dogs are over 35. "The problem is that their perimeter is not fully guarded. There is an open path from the society that goes towards the market and acts as a free way for the dogs from outside to enter,” she said.

PFA is a nodal agency appointed by GMC for sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs.

“There are many points from where outside dogs can enter the society. All our efforts go vain if they aren’t able to secure their boundaries.” she added.

The RWA, however, refuted this and claimed that after the November incident, the way to market was separated by a boundary. “All the gates are now being guarded and the gaps on the boundary have been filled,” said both Ghosh and Chaudhary.

Iyer said that she will send a team to catch the ferocious dog and would bring the stray to treatment center of the agency.

Noida traffic police to get strict against car owners, errant drivers

If you are on Noida roads, then tinted car windows, high-beam headlights and loud music are quite common. But, soon it is going to be a rare sight in the city as the Noida traffic police are planning to take strict action against such violators, who have made an alteration in their cars in order to get extra attention. 

Anil Jha, SP Traffic Gautam Buddh Nagar, said the department concerned has already submitted reports on such cars to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and the office is yet to decide the charges and sections for such an offence. noida news

"It has been observed that people do alteration in their cars in terms of light and other body parts of the vehicle. Doing so is punishable because it causes both security and traffic threat. RTO is already deciding on the punishment for violating the Motor Vehicle Act. Post elections, we will have definite punishment for such offences," he told City Spidey. 

During the evening time, the high-beam headlights on DND and Greater Noida Expressway create a menace for the vehicles coming from the other side of the highway. When asked on what basis they will select a particular intensity of the light while driving, Jha said if any car has modified the lights, we will penalise them. 

"At some places like Greater Noida Expressway or Yamuna Expressway, we have already installed CCTV cameras and we already have our data with us," he added. 

Daily commuters are elated to learn about such guidelines. 

"It's such a relief. I don't drive but I really get pissed off when guys get mad to see a girl walking on the road. They just scroll down the window and put rubbish music on high volume and try to eve-tease us," said Smita Meshram, who walks down every day from her office to the nearest metro station. 

Jaspreet Oberoi, a daily commuter from Noida Sector 16 to Delhi, feels that it’s the need of the hour to get light detectors so that errant drivers can be caught. 

"Those high-beam lights can make anybody blind at night. They are so sharp that you literally go blind if you're driving on the other side. It takes at least two-three seconds for a normal eye to get adjusted to that vision and I think it's much enough time for any mishap to happen," he said.

What to do with old textbooks? Read, reuse, recycle!

With the start of every new academic session comes back the same worry for the parents – what to do with the old books of their kids? Whether to give them to scrap dealer or exchange them at book store while buying new books to save some bucks.

But what if your hassle could be turned into a help for others.

With this in mind, Saket Jain, a resident of Rishabh Cloud 9, a high rise in Indirapuram, has started a noble initiative wherein residents can drop off their old books for the needy ones.

The initiative, which started about a week back, has been given a big thumbs up by the residents of the society. “We are building a book reserve at the reception area of the F tower wherein people can donate their book and anyone, especially the underprivileged children, can take them,” told Jain.

“The initiative has received an overwhelming response. We have received more than a hundred books so far. I have even got so many thank you notes from people who picked up the books,” said a beaming Jain.

This charitable initiative hasn’t been limited for the residents, as anyone from outside the society can also drop and pick up books.

“In case people aren’t able to directly contact me, they can drop the books at the society gates. Similarly, to check out the book reserve, they can either directly contact me or ask the guards,” he added.

The best part of the initiative, says Jain, is anonymity. “Generally, people feel embarrassed while taking old books for their children,” he said.

Speaking upon how this idea struck him, Jain said, “Recently when I had gone out to buy books for my son who is in sixth grade, I wasn’t able to get hold of two books as they were unavailable. Fortunately, I found them in a bundle of old books which a colleague of my wife had dropped over at our home while she was relocating to another city.”

“I realized that it could be a helpful initiative if the whole community comes forward. It will be especially helpful for the underprivileged children who cannot afford books,” he added.

Jain also said that apart from helping the needy ones, the practice of reusing old books helps the environment. “It will be our individual contribution to save trees. It may not be something big but still it works for a greater cause,” Jain added.

So, what’s the biggest hurdle in the success of such initiatives. “It’s the children’s and their parents’ love for new, shiny books. I also faced a lot of resistance from my son but then I used the age-old saying –sharing is caring. I told him that to produce one book, two trees are cut and this will be his way of showing care for the environment,” Jain said.

The initiative will go on till April 15, after that Jain said he we will ask schools in the locality to distribute among needy students or else use it for library.

“We are worried that the books might get stolen and or sold to scrap dealers as they are kept in open. Luckily, nothing like that has happened so far. I have asked the guards to not allow people to take books in bundles,” Jain said.

Jain said that he and other residents of his society have forwarded request to other societies in Ahinsa Khand II to ask their househelps to pick books from the reserve.

Dwarka: Sec 7 residents resort to open garbage dumping; demand dedicated space

Residents of Sector 7 societies are facing a tough time these days. Reason? They are forced to dump garbage on the road near Meghadoot Apartments.

People said they are compelled to do because there is no dedicated space to dump daily waste. They added saying the corporation does not seem to clear the area and as a result, heaps of garbage on the road are causing a foul smell and making the area look filthy and unhygienic. Dwarka News

Secretary of Media Apartments, PP Wangchuk said the problem has increased in the last one week.

He said, “We are forced to inhale foul smell due to this. We have told the area councillor and the MLA several times about the nuisance caused by poor management of waste in the area but they do not seem to take this matter seriously at all! We are now following up the subject with the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) officials and they have assured us with a solution soon.”

Residents of the area allege the SDMC has been callous as far as the sanitation aspect is concerned. They shared that earlier the garbage was dumped in a dhalao there but due to some problem, it was demolished and now there is no place to dump garbage.

Anil Nayal, a resident of Arunoday Apartments (DDA Pocket) and a member of Dwarka Forum said, “There must be a dedicated space to dump garbage. Until then, the SDMC should properly manage the waste on a daily basis.”

New landfill site on the anvil; expected to reduce burden on Ghazipur

Residents facing problems due to the Ghazipur landfill site is not a new story. They have been forced to live with nightmarish contaminated air for so long now. However, they can have a sigh of relief as the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has allocated a 42.5-acre plot for a new landfill site at Ghonda Gurjan in northeast Delhi.

When the new landfill site will become operational, it is expected to reduce the load on the Ghazipur landfill site. With that, people living in the vicinity of Ghazipur landfill site will definitely get much needed relief. noida news

Ghazipur landfill site was overburdened and it was proved when it fell down on the adjacent road causing damages to people who were passing by at that moment. People also frequently share their ordeal which they go through while living close to it. The toxicity in air is almost unbearable. People, who pass through the roads, have no other option but to bear the stink emanating from it.

The areas such as Mayur Vihar, IP Extension, Noida sectors 1 to 8, Kaushambi and Indirapuram are affected because of the Ghazipur landfill site. It has become so huge that it can be spotted from a faraway distance.

Amidst all this, the clearing of decks for the new landfill site has come as a big respite. As far as the current status of the new landfill site is concerned, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) had already cleared the site as “suitable for waste management use” after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered a check.

Pradeep Khandelwal, EDMC chief engineer, said, “This comes as a big relief after a long legal battle. The new landfill site will be an integrated waste management facility which will also have a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant, a biomethanation plant and a C&D debris processing facility.”

“This will not just be an open garbage dumping ground. It will be developed on the lines of the north municipal corporation’s Narela-Bawana engineered landfill site. Unlike the Ghazipur landfill site, the trash will not be visible. It will also be a stench free landfill site,” he added.

He said that when the DDA will pass on the possession to EDMC, tenders will be floated for the development of the infrastructure for the landfill site. “As per our estimates, it will be fully functional in two years,” Khandelwal said.

Contaminated water supply continues unabatedly in Noida

It’s been long that the residents have been complaining about dirty water supply to their houses in Noida. Despite the complaints of RWAs belonging to different sectors, the Noida Authority has not taken any serious action.

A resident of Sector 19, Rishipal Singh told City Spidey that dirty water was supplied to his house on Monday. He said that the supplied water also smelled bad. “Dirty water is being supplied two to three days every week in this sector,” he added. noida news

Residents of sector 12, 15, 20, 21, 27, 31, 45, 71, 72 and others sectors of Noida are also complaining about the same problem.

Anuj Singh, a resident of Assotech Celeste Tower, said that they have been getting dirty water for the last 15 days. He also said that the supplied water also stinks.

Peeyush Kumar, a resident of Antriksh Forest, told City Spidey that residents of few of the sectors are also complaining about skin diseases caused by the dirty water.

“In the last few months, the electronic equipment like the washing machine and RO System installed in the houses got malfunctioned due to the bad quality of water supplied to their houses,” he added.

When City Spidey spoke to an official of Jal Nigam of the Noida Authority, he said that the water is treated at the water canal situated at Ghaziabad. He said that the residents will get good quality of water after the cleaning of the canal.

“If the situation does not improve then I will carry out an inspection of the water tank through which the water is supplied to different sectors in the city,” he added.

Supertech to complete all housing projects across Noida, GreNo by March 2020

Good news for all the home buyers who have invested their hard earned money to book a flat in Supertech's projects and are waiting to get the handover of their dream home. The leading real estate group has decided to complete all of its housing projects in Noida and Greater Noida by March 2020.

If sources are to believed, Supertech, which is reeling under a huge financial crunch and relentless protest from the home buyers, has decided to sell its properties to generate revenue to complete the projects.

 Greater Noida News

It has been informed the group has planned to sell out its properties in Noida, Meerut, Rudrapur and Haridwar for this purpose. As sources have claimed, in the first, the group has decided to complete one of its housing project- Supernova in Sector 94, Noida. Supernova was launched several years back but construction work was halted after 70 per cent work was completed.

The real estate group has also decided to complete its another housing project- Supertech Ecovillage. Out of 55 towers, around 15 towers with the same name were left incomplete in Greater Noida West.

As per the information provided to City Spidey, the group has developed around 8500 flats in Eco-Village 2 wherein nearly 2000 flat owners have been given the possession so far. 

“We will complete all the 15 incomplete towers between the financial year April 2019 and March 2020,” said Vikash Bansal, senior project manager of Ecovillage 2.

Gaur City: Security services withdrawn at 16th Avenue to force AOA formation

The conflict between residents and the builder over formation of new Apartment Owners Association (AOA) reached new levels on Monday when the management withdrew the security services at 16th Avenue in Gaur City, Greater Noida West.

The residents alleged that security services were withdrawn by the management without any prior notice. A resident, Nishant Kumar told City Spidey that they suddenly saw that all the security guards deployed at 13 blocks were absent. Then they come to know that security guards have been withdrawn.

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However, the security guards deployed at the entry and exit gates were continuing their duties.

“In case, any resident gets stuck in lift or any untoward incident happens, there is only security guards who can help. We have lodged complained to local police in this regards,” Kumar added.

Further, residents alleged that Gaur group is building pressure on residents of 16th Avenue to form AOA whereas residents said that they want to form AOA but not before the builder completes all facilities which they had promised during booking their flats. Out of 16 avenues in Gaur City, only 12th Avenue has formed its AOA so far.

Residents said that there are several issues why residents are opposing to from AOA. They referred to the National Green Tribunal’s direction to treat all the sewerage within the society. While referring to it, they said that the builder is yet to complete the STP within the society’s premise.

“Apart from the issue of STP, there are many other problems such as water seepages damaging pillars and walls in basement. The builder is doing nothing to improve it. Whenever we complain to the management, they pressurise us to form AOA,” said Shivendu Kumar, a resident of Gaur City.

Residents of 16th Avenue also complained that Gaur group has constructed a school building in N-Block. “We want to know that why a school building was constructed here? We want to know whether the developer has taken permission from the Greater Noida Authority? Whenever we ask this, we are told to form AOA to get information,” Kumar added.

Rahul Tyagi, Assistant General Manager in Gaur City talking to City Spidey said, “Security services have been resumed next morning. It was done because residents were delaying formation of AOA. A group of residents, who had come to Bishrakh police station, have agreed to from AOA in next two months.”

Tyagi further said that the management has been sending mails regularly asking them to form AOA but they have been delaying it.

“The management is of the view that if there is an AOA within society then resolution of problems will be smooth. The residents would be able to put the issues on table for discussion. Unanimous decisions can be taken this way. School building, for which, they are questioning us, has been built after the permission of the Authority,” Tyagi added.

Gurugram: Vipul Greens RWA files petition with NCLT over security deposit

Taking their fight to the next level, the residents welfare association (RWA) of Vipul Greens, a high rise in Gurugram's Sector 48, has filed a petition against the developer with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for withholding interest free maintenance security deposit (IFMS) even though the handover of the township was completed in April last year.

According to a report published in TOI, the petition was published earlier this month. The tribunal has now sent a notice to Vipul Limited, and asked them to appear for a hearing on March 27.

The developer had received six occupancy certificates (OC) by 2013, said the residents, but yet IFMS hasn’t been transferred to the RWA. Gurugram News

Sant Kumar, RWA president, said, “We had paid the developer IFMS at a rate of Rs 50 per sq ft, which hasn’t been returned yet. The flats were handed over to occupants from 2007 to 2011. By March 2013, the condominium was completed and all six OCs were obtained by the developer.”

The provisions of the Haryana Apartment Ownership Act, 1983 state that the builder is obligated to hand over the maintenance of the complex immediately after obtaining OCs, added Kumar. “However, the developer maintained its control till March 2018.”

NCLT issued a notice two weeks ago to the developer. “The security deposit and consequential interest aggregate to around Rs 10 crore,” said Sunil Pachar, an RWA member.

Kumar further added that the annual upkeep cost for the township is around Rs 6 crore, and the RWA is struggling to manage it without the security deposit.

Meanwhile, a Vipul official said that the residents had taken the handover from them forcibly. “A hundred people came to our offices last year and staged a protest. They neither gave us any indemnity nor arrears. Besides, this RWA has only 100 members while Vipul Greens has over 600 residents. If we gave them the IFSM, other residents would come to us and ask about the money,” the official said.