Noida cops tell mall, bar operators to step up security for X-mas, New Year

Noida Police held a meeting with operators of shopping malls and bars to review security arrangements ahead of Christmas and New Year and asked them to ramp up preparations during the festive season

The Noida Police on Friday held a meeting with operators of shopping malls and bars to review security arrangements ahead of Christmas and New Year and asked them to ramp up preparations during the festive season.

The police warned that they would take strict action in cases of drunk driving but also said this time in a novel initiative they would be arranging hired cabs with verified drivers to help tipplers reach home safe.

According to industry estimates, nearly two lakh revellers are expected on New Year's eve and January 1 at shopping malls in Sector 18, the biggest market and revenue generator of Noida.

The review meeting was held at the NEA Bhawan in Sector 6 in the presence of DCP Noida Harish Chander, Additional DCP Ashutosh Dwivedi and ACP Rajneesh Verma with representatives of malls like Gardens Galleria, DLF Mall of India, Radisson Blu, and bar operators in attendance.

The meeting came a day after Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh visited the busy markets and malls in the area.

"Necessary directions have been issued to them today vis a vis December 25 and December 31. A security audit of these malls, bars and restaurants has been done to assess how many security personnel they have and what is their deployment, what is the coverage of CCTV cameras installed on their premises, the existing dark areas which need to be lit up," Chander said.

During the meeting, the police also took suggestions from these operators as their cooperation was sought in ensuring hassle-free, incident-free celebrations, he said.

"There are various norms of the government which were highlighted by the police to them like the sound limit on loud speakers and its timing," the DCP said.

The IPS officer said in view of the expected crowd on December 25 and December 31/January 1, extra police force would be deployed in the area.

ACP Rajneesh Verma said police helpdesks would be established on every floor of shopping malls while arrangements of ambulance and water tenders would also be ensured at the sites.

"This time the police are also arranging hired cabs with verified drivers to assist tipplers reach their homes safe, should someone, especially women, need them. For this service, people can contact the police helpdesks in the malls," Verma said.

The police directed mall operators to make sure that there is no dark spot left on their premises, especially in parking areas or greenbelts by properly lighting them.

"When fixing CCTV cameras, make sure that all of them are functional. For those CCTV areas installed in parking and entry/exit points, make sure they are positioned in a way to not only capture the number of vehicle but also the faces of front passengers in them," DCP Chander told mall operators.

On their part, the operators of malls and hotels raised the issue of traffic congestion on roads during Christmas and New Year's eve.

The police said their patrol vehicles will be on the ground along with cranes to tow away vehicles found parked on unauthorised road stretches causing congestions and detailed plan would be firmed in a meeting with traffic police soon.