Ghaziabad: Samajwadi Party ex-minister workers ‘inaugurate’ Hindon elevated road

The Ghaziabad administration had been waiting for the formal inauguration of the project and had sent a request to the state administration to get chief minister Yogi Adityanath to open the road.

Dozens of Samajwadi Party leaders and workers on Friday cut a ribbon to mark the “inauguration” of the 10.3km Hindon elevated road, a project which was conceived and constructed majorly under the previous SP regime.

The Samajwadi Party workers broke a coconut and cut a ribbon to ‘open’ the 10.3km Hindon elevated road on Friday (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The Ghaziabad development authority (GDA) officials have lodged an FIR under stringent IPC sections against this unauthorised ceremony.

The Ghaziabad administration had been waiting for the formal inauguration of the project and had sent a request to the state administration to get chief minister Yogi Adityanath to open the road.

The SP leaders, including member of legislature council Rakesh Yadav, and others reached the Raj Nagar Extension (RNE) stretch of the elevated road on Friday and “inaugurated” the road.

“The project was conceived by the SP government while the present BJP government is trying to take credit for the project. Almost 80%-90% work was completed under SP regime. Since the environment clearance has already come and commuters are suffering due to traffic issues, we broke a coconut and cut the ribbon to mark its opening,” Yadav said.

After the inauguration, around 9am, the SP workers drove at least 30-35 vehicles on the newly constructed road till UP Gate on the Delhi-UP border. They later went to meet the families four in Khoda who had died allegedly after consuming of spurious liquor.

“The road was left open for commuters for nearly 30 minutes. In Khoda, we met victim families and have demanded appropriate compensation from the state government,” Yadav said.

The elevated road has been built at a cost of Rs 1,147 crore and had been delayed by nearly a year due to litigation, shifting of utilities, etc. It was recently given environment clearance by the state environment impact assessment authority.

“There were security guards deployed at the two ends of the road but the people arrived in vehicles and the guards could not stop them. The road is complete and we are awaiting its inauguration. The state administration will decide the time and date of the inauguration by the UP CM. An FIR has been lodged by the GDA into Friday’s incident,” Ritu Maheshwari, vice-chairperson, GDA, said.

Yadav and others under IPC sections of attempt to murder, rioting, assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty and other sections of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

“The police picked up four of our workers and they were taken to Sihani Gate police station. At the time of our ceremony, there was no police present at the spot. We were on the road for nearly 30 minutes,” Rahul Chaudhary, SP city president, said.

SSP HN Singh said that there was no prior intimation about the ‘event’.

“They reached the spot, took out ribbons and performed the inauguration. They have been booked under stringent sections,” he said.