Enhanced vigil on 10 sensitive highway stretches in UP

GHAZIABAD: Shaken by the Bulandshahr gang rape, the Uttar Pradesh police have readied a plan to secure all highways in the state. It also identified five sensitive

GHAZIABAD: Shaken by the Bulandshahr gang rape, the Uttar Pradesh police have readied a plan to secure all highways in the state. It also identified five sensitive national and five state highways.

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Under the plan prepared by the UP director general of police, these 10 stretches will see stricter checks by police and highway patrol vehicles.

The five national highway stretches are NH-2 (Mathura – Varanasi), NH-24 (Ghaziabad – Lucknow), NH-76 (Jhansi – Allahabad), NH-91 (Ghaziabad – Kanpur) and NH-93 (Agra – Moradabad),

The five state highways are 1A (Maharajganj – Gonda), 5 (Akbarpur – Sonbhadra), 34 (Sultanpur – Ballia), 51 (Badaun – Bijnor) and 57 (Ghaziabad – Saharanpur).

More police pickets will come up and at least one of two vehicles from police stations having highways under their jurisdiction will be used for night patrolling.

The vehicle will bear flasher lights and the name of the police station concerned.

“The deputy superintendent of police/circle officer have been directed to be engaged in highway patrolling between 11pm and 4am. In case the stretch is long, two officers will supervise the patrolling,” said Rahul Srivastava, PRO to the state DGP.

The inspector generals of these respective zones will monitor the progress of the night patrol and report to the additional director general (law & order) the next day.

The plan highlighted the need to install solar lights at dark patches, flyovers, culverts, major drains and jungle stretches with help of agencies such as the National Highways Authority of India and the state highway authority.

There will be strict checking at toll plazas and vehicles such as mini-trucks will be monitored.

According to NHAI, the entire state has nearly 8,483 kms of highway stretches. Police identified nearly 42 NH stretches and another 8,232 kms of road under 83 state highways in UP.