Noida yet to receive 60 traffic personnel promised by UP government

The UP government had assured Kiran Sivakumar, the senior superintendent of police, of providing additional personnel due to severe staff crunch in Gautam Budh Nagar

A group of sixty constables out of the 150 personnel promised by the state government is yet to join the city traffic police.

Traffic Jams are a common sight in Noida. Police say the situation is getting worse due to lack of adequate traffic personnel. (HT Photo)

The UP government had assured Kiran Sivakumar, the senior superintendent of police, of providing additional personnel due to severe staff crunch in Gautam Budh Nagar. The police and residents had repeatedly appealed for additional police force in the district.

On May 3, 90 cops (of the 150) joined the Noida traffic police to assist police in managing traffic on roads. The six border points between Noida and Delhi, three master plan (MP 1, 2 and 3) roads in Ghaziabad, road from Sector 71 to NH-24 via Model Town, Udyog Marg, road from Sector 15 to Sector 37 and 232 intersections turn into a nightmare for residents during the rush hour.

“The police personnel have been asked to join the Noida force at the earliest,” Sivakumar said.

The constables have been transferred from six neighbouring districts -- Hapur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. However, these personnel will work with the Noida traffic for two months only. Rest of the promised personnel will also be transferred from these districts, officials said.

“Noida is a city without police. You are at other’s mercy while driving on the road as one has to struggle through jam-packed traffic. Besides, the menace of autos and private buses is intolerable. I take the NIB or Model Town route to reach NH-24 from Sector 63 and it is getting increasingly difficult to drive by the day. Everybody is jumping traffic signals, even when traffic police happen to be present,” Santosh Singh of Pandav Nagar said.

In January, the Noida traffic police had received a force of 170 traffic constables from Hapur and Bulandshahar districts. At present, the core staff strength of Noida traffic police is about 133 personnel, which is inadequate and the department has been demanding 500 personnel for better management of traffic in Noida.

“The 60 additional personnel would be of great help to us. We are short staffed and are somehow managing the traffic. However, the traffic police department has always demanded 500 permanent personnel,” Sanjay Singh, superintendent of police (traffic), Noida, said.

Residents of the city, under the banner of federation of Noida residents’ welfare association (Fonrwa), had raised this issue with the state’s director general of police (DGP) recently.