Noida Prateek Wisteria: Builder hands over maintenance to AOA; residents elated

Finally, the residents of Prateek Wisteria, a high-rise in Noida Sector 76, have a reason to celebrate. The maintenance of the society will now be handled by its Apartment Owners Association (AOA) as the developer—Prateek Group has finally accepted the 1800 flat owners’ long-standing demand.

The AOA started its first day in the office with good news for the residents as it decided to wave off two-months (February and March) maintenance charges. The members of the AOA said that right now they can afford the move as they have funds from the maintenance charges collected earlier.

Nisha Rai, secretary of AOA, said, “The developer has handed over the maintenance of the society to AOA and now it’s our responsibility to provide better services to the residents. The decision to wave off two months’ charges has been taken after analyzing the funds available with us.”

Listing out their key responsibility areas, the AOA members said that providing better facility at the two club houses and gyms, and overhauling the security on the premises are right at the top.

“We will work towards increasing the number of CCTV cameras and implement waste segregation system within two weeks. AOA would be fully operational from April 1 after the developer transfers all records and funds,” Rai added.

While most of the residents cheered AOA’s wave off offer, a section alleged that the association has not followed the guidelines prescribed under the UP Apartment Act.

Replying to this, Rai said, “This is absolutely wrong. Our AOA has been formed according to the UP Apartment Act and the Noida Authority is fully aware of this new development.”

Delhi-bound Alliance Airlines flight makes emergency landing after narrow escape

Over 55 passengers of Alliance Airlines had a narrow escape after the aircraft was hit by lightening minutes after taking off from Sri Guri Ramdas Ji International Airport, Amritsar, on Friday.

Alliance Airlines is a subsidiary of Air India.

Vikram Mahldar, a resident of Saya Zenith Apartments, Indirapuram, was on flight 9616 of Alliance Airlines, which took off at 9 am from Amritsar to Delhi. He recounted his horrifying experience to City Spidey. "Barely 15 minutes after take off, we saw a blast outside the left side of the window of the plane followed by a loud thud. All the passengers started to panic. Immediately after, water started filling inside the cabin, which left passengers petrified."

"The cabin staff then informed that the leakage had happened owing to some malfunction in the AC vent," Mahldar further said.

"However, soon after, the pilot announced that the plane has been struck by the lightning and for the safety of the passengers, the trip needed to be aborted," he added.

The plane made emergency landing back at Amritsar airport. After reaching the ground, the passengers were made to sit inside the plane for more than half an hour, Mahldar said.

The airplane staff wanted to repair the malfunction and prepare the plane for flight again, but passengers refused.

"Alternative arrangements were done for the passengers. However, just 8-9 of us availed that, the rest left," he said.

The unprofessional attitude of the airport authority rattled Mahldar.

He said, "Even after the announcement by pilot, they refused to accept that the plane was hit by lightning and maintained that it was some technical issue inside the plane.”

He also overheard a few engineers saying that it was the first trip of the aircraft.

Dangling cables pose a threat to pedestrians, motorists in Dwarka

Dangling cables of different varieties have become a looming threat for the pedestrians and motorists in Dwarka.

Cables used by telecom and cable operators and internet service providers hanging from trees and street lights have become a common sight in the sub city. These cables pose a serious threat to people passing through the streets with shopkeepers, pedestrians and motorists complaining about it on a regular basis.

At master plan road 202 near Shahjahanabad Apartments in Sector 11 and DDA SFS Flats in Sector 5 across the Palam Drain, cables can be seen hanging from poles and even lying on the road. General secretary of RWA, DDA SFS Flats Sector 5, Mahesh Gupta said, “While the authorities are least bothered about the situation, cable operators and internet companies have been making a mess by haphazardly hanging the wires wherever they want. The road from Ashirwad Chowk to Sector 6 market is covered above with a mesh of wires.”

At important intersection, cables can even be seen lying on the roads. These are deliberately kept by the operators so that they could use them anytime they want. The residents say they have seen numerous accidents happening because of these cables.

Shalini Agrawal, a resident of Sector 12, said, “Just recently, while crossing the road at Ashirvad Chowk, my foot got entangled in wires lying at the zebra crossing. Fortunately, I just got away with minor bruises. Despite several complaints, neither DDA nor municipal corporation has done anything on the issue.”

Meanwhile, officials of civic bodies DDA, MCD and BSES said that the problem is that cable operators and internet service providers use their poles to hang wires, which is illegal. The residents say that the worst part is despite knowing the cause of the problem, the authorities haven’t been able to check it.

SK Dagar, deputy general manager, street light, BSES, Dwarka, said, “We regularly clean our poles of these cables. We have also written to MCD and DDA to take action against these people.”

Meanwhile, chief engineer of DDA, RK Singh, said that he would take the subject into concern and proper action will be taken.

RESIDENT SPEAK: 'Abandoned structures in parks pose security threat'

Dwarka is a developing area as compared to the other parts of Delhi so obviously, there are a lot of things that need to be changed, revamped, modified and developed with the help of the RWAs, residents and civic bodies concerned. 

I, being the general secretary of Dwarka Forum, would like to draw the attention of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) towards the old, concrete structures in the green areas and parks across the sub-city, which seems to be left abandoned, as a result, lying in a bad shape for a long time now. Sadly, these structures are being used as toilets and by all sorts of miscreants, posing a severe security threat to the area. 

One such structure is inside a park, situated in Sector-8's Block-A, adjoining to the Vivekananda Marg. It is being ruined further as a public toilet and by anti-social elements. Similar kinds of damaged buildings, structures can be seen in parks, located in Sectors 7, 9 and others too.  

It has been learnt these buildings, structures were once site offices and pump houses of Horticulture Department of Delhi Development Authority when the sub-city was being developed. But due to sheer negligence and apathy of civic agencies concerned, these are lying in a dilapidated state. But there seems to be a ray of hope now after the transfer of such parks under 3-acre area from the DDA to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). It is expected from both the civic agencies to look after these structures and keep them maintained periodically. And if they fail to do so, these structures should be demolished to discourage its 'unfair' use.

Ensure better street lights: Dwarka Forum to BSES officials

The members of Dwarka Forum met the BSES officials on Sunday and discussed one of the biggest issues faced by the residents — poor condition of streetlights and revamping work required.

The meeting was held at Gokul Garden in Sector 7 and was attended by Vinod Sharma, circle head (Dwarka) of BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd, Ajit Kadiyan, divisional head (Dwarka), R K Vij, divisional head (Palam) and SK Dagar DGM (street lights). The forum comprises several RWAs from various sectors in Dwarka.

Speaking to City Spidey, president of Dwarka Forum, Sushil Kumar, said, “We discussed operation and maintenance of street lights across the sub city. There is a lot of confusion over who handles the maintenance work of street lights. Is it DDA or BSES? We have sought clarification on the same.”

Dwarka has many stretches with defunct street lights, which add to the misery of pedestrians and motorists. “We are preparing a list of dark spots sector wise with the help of RWAs and residents. In our next meeting, we will hand over this list to the authorities,” added Kumar.

The members also discussed the replacement of faulty timers and LED. “Street light poles are being used by various operators to hang cables, which is illegal and can also prove very dangerous for the residents. Authorities need to take action against the offenders. We have also requested the officials to replace broken streetlight poles and feeder pillars,” said general secretary of the forum, AS Chatwal.

The discussion also highlighted the problem of electricity theft from poles in some areas, wrong location of poles disturbing traffic (at a few places, poles are located in the middle of roads and intersections) and street lights being hidden behind trees reducing visibility.

“It has been decided that the Forum, in association with BSES, will conduct a survey on the existing problems. The forum will arrange a combined meeting with DDA and BSES officials to sort out the issues at hand,” informed Chatwal.

SHO of Dwarka South police station, Ram Niwas, was also present at the occasion. He has submitted a list of 33 dark spots in different sectors to BSES officials. The officials have assured to resolve the issues at the earliest.

Noida Authority starts construction of sewer lines in many areas

The Noida Authority has started construction of sewer lines in many new sectors including 77 and 78 in the city. 

As per an official of Authority, the construction work was started two weeks ago and it will be completed soon. The sewer line is expected to eliminate the water logging problem in the areas. 

Shivam Mishra, a resident of Antriksh Forest said that due to this work, the residents of nearby high rise societies will be benefited. During rain, the roads and societies of the area used to face the problem of water logging.

“Due to absence of sewer channel, the builder used to release the sewer water in the open areas for the last three year. This has become a health hazard for us,” Mishra added.

MK Jain, the project engineer in Jal department of Noida Authority said that the work has been started for over 500 meter sewer line. The work will end within the two months.

New CBSE regional office at Noida to cater to 16 nearby cities

The central office of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has set up a new regional office at Noida. Now, students belonging to the region need not go to Allahabad and Dehradun office for their works. 

The new regional office in Noida will cater to 16 cities in the area. Now, thousands of students belonging to these cities will find it easy to get their works done at the new Noida office.

An official in CBSE informed that students belonging to these cities need not visit the regional offices in Allahabad and Dehradun to get their works done. He said that the offices in Allahabad and Dehradun had also a big load. 

Because the regional offices were only available at Allahabad and Dehradun, it was also difficult to conduct the examinations at these 16 cities. The officials had to do a lot of travelling in order the conduct the examinations.

The cities which are now linked with the new Noida regional office are Agra, Aligarh, Bagpat, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Etah, Bareilly, Firozabad, Meerut, Hathras, Kasganj, Mainpuri, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur and Shamli.

Alok Singh, a parent in Greater Noida, believe that having CBSE office in the city is of great help. He said, “We can now easily reach out to office in case we need some correction in documents.”

Singh, however, said, “I think, it is also a good news for people living out of NCR. Parents or students can directly come to Noida from the 16 cities which are nearby. More importantly, schools in NCR will also find a great relief. Parents or teachers occasionally visit CBSE office but school staffs visit the office more often.”

Amita Saxena, a school coordinator talking with City Spidey said, “This is a good development for Noida. Having an office in relatively less crowded area like Noida will be conducive for the visitors coming from other cities. People had to struggle with huge traffic in order to reach Delhi office. Schools will also find it easier to approach the office for affiliation and other things.”

Now, CBSE has 16 regional offices across the country. The regional offices have been set up at Noida, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Delhi West and Pune.

‘Residents want amendments in the policy to accept multipoint power connections’

The issue related to multipoint power connections has been bothering people living in high-rises across Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad from the day of its announcement by the state govt to implement it by March this year.

Residents alleged the policy itself has many loopholes. They feel that bearing infra cost will put an extra burden on their pocket. Besides, it will give freehand to the builders for charging amount of their wishes to recover the said cost for the conversion from a single point to multipoint connections.

City Spidey in its talk show, Talking Point, discussed the matter at length with Vikas Kumar, member of NEFOWA (Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association). He touched upon key points and stressed the fact that changes in the policy will bring an amicable solution to this long-pending issue.

TALKING POINT: Multipoint power connections issue across Noida, Greater ...

Colour-coded stickers, HSRPs to become mandatory on vehicles in Delhi-NCR

In a move to check rising air pollution and vehicle theft in Delhi-NCR, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) plans to make colour-coded stickers and high security registration plates (HSRPs) mandatory by October this year.

After its implementation, all the four-wheelers (old and new) including private, commercial, trucks and buses will be required to have colour-coded stickers.

The colour-coded stickers, pasted on the windscreen, will indicate the type of fuel used by the vehicle. Petrol and CNG driven vehicles will be required to put up light blue stickers. Diesel vehicles will put orange stickers. Electric and hybrid vehicles will be using green stickers.

In Delhi, the mandate to put colour-coded stickers has already been in place since October 2018. New vehicles are already using stickers and HSRPs whereas the old vehicles are coming into the domain in phases.

As per an official of the Delhi Transport Department, 76,000 new vehicles have got stickers and HSRPs so far in Delhi. “Around five million other vehicles are yet to put stickers and HSRPs,” official said.

EPCA believes that colour-coded stickers will help the authorities to remove the vehicles from the roads based on the age and fuel-type during the implementation of emergency road rationing measures.

This move will make it easier for authorities to restrict the movement of diesel vehicles which are having higher emissions than the petrol and CNG run vehicles.

HSRPs will help the authorities in tracking the vehicles. They will do this through laser number linked to the registration number which is available on the transport department’s online portal – VAHAN.

EPCA has planned to make colour-coded stickers and HSRPs mandatory throughout the whole National Capital Region (NCR). Cities like Faridabad, Gurugram, Mewat, Sonepat, Rewari, Jhajjhar, Panipat, Palwal, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Jind, Karal, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Bagpat, Hapur, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar comes under the territory of NCR.

Year 2019 should see dedicated play areas in 15 DDA parks across Dwarka

Here’s news... and good one. Dedicated play areas and flower parks will adorn Dwarka in 2019, said DDA Chief Engineer, RK Singh, in his speech to a gathering at Sector 11 DDA park today.

The occasion? Swachhata Awareness Campaign by the DDA.

The parks have already been identified and work is to start soon. 

“We have identified 15 parks in different sectors so far. After we are successful in this first attempt, we will go for more parks. We are also developing a rose and a bougainvillea garden in Dwarka. Work in these two parks should be completed in a month’s time,” confirmed the Chief Engineer.

Singh said community participation was being promoted by the DDA in the development of the city and a dedicated team has been working with the RWAs in maintaining the footpaths and repairing of the roads. He added that all the DDA parks would have open-air gyms.

The DDA has about 95 parks across Dwarka — of which, 20 have open air gyms.

Representatives of Parmarthi, a social organisation working on cleaning of footpaths and roads of Dwarka, were also present at the venue.

To mark the occasion, children from schools and NGOs and societies in the area participated in various competitions like easy writing, painting and street plays. They displayed their creativity on the subject of cleanliness and environment. Winners were given prizes and certificates by the DDA through the RWAs, social activists and experts of different fields.

Treasurer of Lovely Home Apartments in Sector 5, Vishal Gupta, who was present on the occasion, said, “This is really good news for us, as there is hardly any space for children to play in the locality.”

Indirapuram: ‘Tainted’ ex-cop arrested for amassing disproportionate assets

The Uttar Pradesh’s Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday arrested an ex-policeman from his residence in Gaur Green City, Indirapuram, on the charges of amassing disproportionate assets. The 62-year-old accused, Puran Singh, was arrested following a notice served by the ACB one month ago.

Singh has been accused of accumulating unaccountable assets under his wife's name. According to police, the total value of his assets was Rs 31.97 lakh and the check period between 1997 and 2009 revealed an expenditure of Rs 73.73 lakh, more than 100 per cent of his total income. The case was registered in 2010 but he was not arrested then.

Apart from this, he was issued a non-bailable warrant in a case for threatening a local political party leader in 2011.

“He demanded money for a task. When he could not do it, I asked him to return my money. He refused and later conspired to kill me," alleged Naresh Yadav, national president of Bhartiya Panchayat Party.

On January 10 this year, Yadav had written a letter to Ghaziabad SSP requesting him to nab allegedly absconding Singh. "My life was in threat. Even after non-bailable warrant, police was not acting upon it," said Yadav.

Besides, Singh was accused of forging his passport details in 2018 in order to escape to America for settling his disproportionate assets. The bureau is investigating regarding this matter.

Puran Singh, who hails from Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh, joined the force in the year 1981 as sub inspector. He retired in the year 2018 from Agra and was working as a property dealer in Indirapuram.

How the society guards fell prey to apathy and bitter winter nights..

As per MET (Indian Meteorological Department) data, this season, Delhi-NCR witnessed the coldest December and January in the last 13 years — temperature plummeted to as low as 3.4 degrees at night.

It also proved to the most harrowing winter for the night security guards. And most societies failed to provide them even with the basic facility of heater.

City Spidey conducted a survey of more than 50 housing societies of Ghaziabad to assess the ground reality.

“No heater has been provided to us by society management,” said 38-year-old Ramesh Singh, who has been working at Saya Zenith Apartments in Indirapuram for more than three months now, and added, “We pick dry leaves and branches from the trees nearby and light a small fire for ourselves. We had asked for heaters when the winters started, but received no reply in this regard from AOA.”

The situation is no different at the neighbouring East End Apartments.

The guards at the gate covered themselves in blankets — which they themselves arranged — to keep warm. “That stops us from shivering — that’s all we can ask for at this point,” pointed out a guard on duty.

A little away at ATS Advantage, the guards at the tower thank a few residents who got them heaters. However, they claimed to receive no help from the society management. “But there is nothing for the guards doing duty at the gates. Although we spend nights in a cabin at the gates, it only provides temporary relief,” said a guard at the main gate.

Moving further towards Amrapali Village, guards were seen warming themselves with coal.

“Although the worst of winter is gone, but even if we get heaters now, we will be able to spend the nights more comfortably. Also, it would do good for the guards in the next season,” said a 19-year-old guard Vikal Yadav.

The security agency is run by Sharat Jha, president of Consortium of Societies, Ghaziabad. He has failed to provide heaters to guards at his own society, Rajhans Residency.

While talking to guards, it was found that many societies tend to impose hefty fines on guards if they are found lighting fire or even dozing off.

At Ashiana Upvan, guards claimed that society management has prohibited lighting of fire, but somehow they manage to do it on bitter winter nights. “We won’t survive this winter otherwise,” a guard said.

But there are problems with lighting a fire.  “Our jackets get frequently dirty with the fumes. We have to wash them thrice a week. As the security agency has not provided us any spare jacket, we are forced to come to duty in a different jacket. If this happens more than once, it attracts a fine because society has allowed us to wear civil dress only once a week,” a guard said. 

The fine, ridiculously, could be anywhere between Rs 5,000-10,000! That’s their entire salary!

City Spidey found one exception though — Arihant Harmony of Ahinsa Khand II. In the guards’ room, an electric heater had warmed to an orange hue, as a few guards sat huddled around it.  The heater, guards claimed, had been provided by the society management.

Arihant Harmony is the residential address of Alok Kumar, president of Indirapuram-based Federation of Apartments Owners Association, or FedAOA. Kumar said that every winter, AOA of the society distributed blankets and ensured a room heater in the guards’ room.

When City Spidey spoke about the ground conditions, Kumar could only nod his head in disappointment.   “People should extend at least the basic courtesy towards their guards. They want 24-hour security but ignore the basic amenities. Same people would make a hue and cry if not provided facilities at their workplace,” lashed out Kumar.