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Ahead of CM’s Dadri visit today, officials go all out to make event a success
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
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 is not 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.
“The chief minister is travelling across the state every day and talking about the development work done in every district in the last four-and-a-half years. He has performed wonderfully well on all fronts, so people also want to listen to him at events,” said Dhirendra Singh, BJP MLA from Jewar.
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.
The residents of the housing projects said the action should have been taken long ago-- it is now inconveniencing them rather than the builders.
“The authority took this action now to show the chief minister that they are working according to rules. This action should have been taken long ago because almost all realtors have been dumping untreated sewage into drains for a long time now. Also, why did they seal clubhouse buildings meant for residents?” said Amit Gupta, member of Progressive Community Foundation, a residents’ group.
“The authority team reached our premises at 12.20pm and sealed our maintenance office without any notice. This has affected our functioning-- it must be de-sealed. The Noida authority wants to make the chief minister happy with this unreasonable action. Junior-level officers are misleading the Noida CEO and acting unlawfully. Our sewer is supposed to be connected to a nearby STP of the Noida authority. They arrested our staff illegally,” said Namit Gautam, president of Prateek Fedora Apartments in Sector 61.
However, the authority claimed they only sealed premises controlled by builders.
