Traffic Signs: Traffic Signs Are Nothing Like Pvt Company Cuts Wires, Locks Offices and Leaves | Ghaziabad news

Ghaziabad: Traffic signs in the city stopped working on Sunday morning, to send the police hastening to deploy personnel from an already short-staffed force to manually operate the lights.
Sunday being a holiday for many people going to the office, the traffic was thin on the road. But Monday morning brought the expected chaos. As the police sweated under the April sun, the queue of cars grew longer.
The soldiers were left in this difficult place by a private company that had been managing the city’s automatic signals for the past seven years.
In 2017, the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) signed a six-year contract with M/S. Shiv Shakti Dreams Homes Pvt Ltd maintaining 19 existing traffic signals and installing new ones at key intersections. The contract was supposed to end in May last year. So far, the city has 52 traffic signals.
“On April 29, 2023, the company wrote to the GMC, asking it to renew the contract. The three-member committee that was formed to investigate the company’s performance decided not to extend it. The company moved the court against the GMC’s decision on May 10 last year,” said Vikramaditya Singh Malik, commissioner of municipality.
On March 20, the court ruled in favor of the GMC.
On Saturday, Shiv Shakti was sent a notice to vacate the control room and hand over all the equipment to the corporation’s staff in 24 hours. Instead of doing so, the operator’s staff left their office and shut it down. They allegedly cut the wires connecting the signal and removed the control device, which is necessary for the automatic change of the signal according to the traffic flow.
When the lights went out on Sunday, the GMC team rushed to Shiv Shakti’s office and found it locked.
With the police involved in directing the traffic, it hit a routine police check on the road. “Many of those posted at traffic signals were now given the task of issuing challans for violations. That has taken a hit,” said Veerendra Kumar, additional DCP (traffic).
GMC, meanwhile, is trying to organize a controller. “Without the device, it will not be possible to reactivate the automatic signals,” the civic chief said. Following the GMC’s complaint, a case was registered at Sihani Gate police station on Monday against four employees of the company – Harish Sharma, Gunjan Sharma, Kapil Mohan Gupta and Tarun Sharma.
The case was registered under IPC sections 341 (unlawful restraints), 420 (cheating), 338 (causing serious harm by an act endangering human life, etc.) and 186 (restriction of public servants from performing public duties) and sections involved. Prevention of Destruction of Public Property Act, 1984. An investigation has been initiated by a team formed to arrest company officials,” said Ravi Kumar, ACP (Nandgram).
During rush hour on Monday, snarls were reported in Siddharth Vihar, Vaishali and Kaushambi. Passengers coped with the disaster as usual.
Anshul Verma of Vaishali, who was on his way to work in Sahibabad, was caught unawares. “I was surprised to see the police controlling the traffic on the road. All the signs were empty. I was stuck in the noise for more than 30 minutes,” he added.
Ghaziabad: Traffic signals in the city stopped working on Sunday morning, prompting the police to rush to deploy personnel from the already short-staffed squad to operate the lights manually.
Sunday being a holiday for many people going to the office, the traffic was thin on the road. But Monday morning brought the expected chaos. As the police sweated under the April sun, the queue of cars grew longer.
The soldiers were left in this difficult place by a private company that had been managing the city’s automatic signals for the past seven years.
In 2017, the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) signed a six-year contract with M/S Shiv Shakti Dreams Homes Pvt Ltd to maintain the existing 19 traffic signals and install new ones at key intersections. The contract was supposed to end in May last year. So far, the city has 52 traffic signals.
“On April 29, 2023, the company wrote to the GMC, asking it to renew the contract. The three-member committee that was formed to investigate the company’s performance decided not to extend it. The company moved the court against the GMC’s decision on May 10 last year,” said Vikramaditya Singh Malik, commissioner of municipality.
On March 20, the court ruled in favor of the GMC.
On Saturday, Shiv Shakti was sent a notice to vacate the control room and hand over all the equipment to the corporation’s staff in 24 hours. Instead of doing so, the operator’s staff left their office and shut it down. They allegedly cut the wires connecting the signal and removed the control device, which is necessary for the automatic change of the signal according to the traffic flow.
When the lights went out on Sunday, the GMC team rushed to Shiv Shakti’s office and found it locked.
With the police involved in directing the traffic, it hit a routine police check on the road. “Many of those posted at traffic signals were now tasked with issuing challans for violations. That has taken a hit,” said Veerendra Kumar, additional DCP (traffic).
GMC, meanwhile, is trying to organize a controller. “Without the device, it will not be possible to restart the automatic signals,” the civic chief said. Following the GMC’s complaint, a case was registered at Sihani Gate police station on Monday against four employees of the company – Harish Sharma, Gunjan Sharma, Kapil Mohan Gupta and Tarun Sharma.
The case was registered under IPC sections 341 (unlawful restraints), 420 (cheating), 338 (causing serious harm by an act endangering human life, etc.) and 186 (restriction of public servants from performing public duties) and sections involved. Prevention of Destruction of Public Property Act, 1984. An investigation has been initiated by a team formed to arrest company officials,” said Ravi Kumar, ACP (Nandgram).
During rush hour on Monday, snarls were reported in Siddharth Vihar, Vaishali and Kaushambi. Passengers coped with the disaster as usual.
Anshul Verma of Vaishali, who was on his way to work in Sahibabad, was caught unawares. “I was surprised to see the police controlling the traffic on the road. All the signs were empty. I was stuck in the noise for more than 30 minutes,” he added.