Sleepless nights for Noida cops ahead of Maya's walk in the park

Personnel at the short-staffed sector-20 police station are concerned about the security scenario as the UP CM, renowned for making her disgust known, inaugurates the Ambedkar Park here on Friday

Personnel at the short-staffed sector-20 police station are concerned about the security scenario as the UP CM, renowned for making her disgust known, inaugurates the Ambedkar Park here on Friday

Cops at Noida's Sector-20 police station are a worried lot these days. And it's not a menacing criminal or a lurking threat that's causing this anxiety.


Preparations on for UP CM Mayawati's visit at Ambedkar Park
in Noida on Tuesday

It's because the UP CM is coming to town. In about 48 hours, Mayawati will inaugurate her dream project - the Rs 101-crore Ambedkar Park (likely to be named Dalit Prerna Sthal) - in the area.u00a0

Successful launch of the project has become a mammoth task for the short-staffed Sector-20 police station, under whose jurisdiction the park lies.

According to sources at the police station, officials are working overtime for the last few days.

All police stations in the vicinity have undergone maintenance and cleaning, to avoid a repeat of Mayawati's last situation where she had criticised officials in almost every department.

Power play
The park is being guarded by Special Range Security Battalion which was formed recently. The force is also guarding the Ambedkar Park at Lucknow, but being close to the power centre does help.
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The Ambedkar Park in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar has got its own swanky police post. Noida Sector 20 police station officials are comparing their situation with security arrangements in the state's capital.

The Ambedkar Park police outpost in Gomti Nagar is not the best in the state but it is imposing if the one goes only by the area it covers.

The single-storey outpost, constructed by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), sprawls over an area of close to 800 square metres and was built at a cost of almost Rs 1.2 crore; possibly one of the most expensive ones in the country.
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A large parking lot, the likes of which even the camp office of the district police chief does not have, is followed by a verandah and after a couple of small steps comes the inside floor made of reddish-black granite floor where one can usually find a sub-inspector along with some constables sitting behind their working table, which is also a luxury when compared to some of the other outposts.

'Field' day
To make the inauguration event foolproof the entire police force of the district will be deployed on October 14. Along with the SSP and SP (city) 7 assistant superintendents of police , 20 circle officers, 70 inspectors, 230 sub-inspectors, 20 sub-inspectors (female), 1350 constables, 62 constables (female) and 11 battalion of PSE will be monitoring security arrangements during the 30-minute long inauguration ceremony of the park.

Preparations on at the park for Mayawati's arrival. Road leading to the office of Senior Superintendent of Police Gautam Budh Nagar

In all, Mayawati is expected to inaugurate around 15 projects across the district on Friday, starting with the park. She will also unveil a new district hospital, Mahamaya Inter College for Girls, Mahamaya Inter College for Boys, Rajnigandha Underpass, Gautam Buddha University and a number of works in her native village Badalpur.

Guarded approach
Two battalions of the Special Range Security Battalion will guard Mayawati's Noida Park on a regular basis. The battalion is a specialised unit of the police raised by the state government last year for the specific purpose of protecting monuments of Dalit icons at eight parks and memorials in Lucknow, besides the park in Noida.

"These personnel are expected to provide much needed protection to the sensitive monument. The specialised memorial protection force was requisitioned after the district police found itself stretched to provide additional personnel for the security of the park and the statues in it.
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The force will be stationed at Noida and Greater Noida so that they can be moved to the park at short notice," said senior police officer.

The memorial protection force was sanctioned by a government order in May 2010. A total 794 Home Guards were recruited in September after a month-long interview process involving 10,000 candidates, carried out at nine police range headquarters.

The personnel, who wear navy blue trousers and sky blue shirts, are authorised to search and seize, but not to make arrests.

Get street smart
Avoid going to Noida on October 13-14 as roads will be closed for two hours for security.u00a0 During the CM's visit about 30-40 thousand people are expected and the authority has finalised the parking plan.

The Great India Place vicinity has been reserved for parking. The road leading from Mayur Vihar and Greater Noida will remain closed and will be used for parking. Parking will be handled by traffic police.

Paving the way
Roads are being carpeted, roadside railings painted, lights thoroughly repaired and the horticulture department - rapped by the CM last time for the city's lack of green cover - is on an overdrive to smoothen things out.

During her last visit, the CM had asked her officials to increase the city's tree cover by next year. This time, Mayawati will inspect the state of horticulture, officials said.

The 30-minute long inauguration ceremony will start with the landing of Chief Minister's helicopter at Apeejay School from where she will drive to the Ambedkar Park.
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After the inauguration she will take a 15-minute round of the park and will fly back to Lucknow.
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To ensure everything goes smoothly, the department will have a dress rehearsal on October 13, a day ahead of the main event.

Rs 750 crore
Cost of the dozen projects that Mayawati will unveil on Friday