Yamuna Expressway becoming increasingly unsafe
GREATER NOIDA, JEWAR, ALIGARH robbery on the expressway and directed the Superintendent of Police (SSP) concerned to increase surveillance, nothing has changed on the ground. Lack of information sharing between various SSPs under whom the expressway comes at various milestones, is seen as a major reason why there has not been any progress on checking crimes on the Yamuna Expressway.
To examine if security has been increased after a Volvo bus was robbed near Aligarh on 22 January, The Sunday Guardian visited the expressway this week. Explaining the process of their work, an officer at the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) said, “The YEIDA had issued a letter to the SSP in Aligarh, requesting the police to increase the frequency of PCR (Police Control Room) vans and ‘Dial 100 cars’ of the Uttar Pradesh police. We have already taken note of the incident and we are doing what we can do. Also, since elections are near, all of us are preoccupied. Security is primarily a police subject.”
However, when police officers in the Tappal police station—the nearest police station in Aligarh where the incident was reported— were questioned about the status of their investigation on the criminals involved, they said, “They will be caught eventually. We don’t know where they come from or who they are. They can be locals or outsiders. It is not easy to ascertain their whereabouts.” A Tappal police official said, “We have recorded only two criminal incidents in 2016-17. Most of the crimes on the expressway occur near Mathura and further on.”
But the employees at the Jewar toll plaza said that criminal activities were quite common near Aligarh.
Since the Jaypee Group is the contractor of Yamuna Expressway, an official of the company, explaining the challenges and security preparations, said, “Since 22 January, we have increased our fleet of patrolling cars