Ghaziabad authorities get cracking, order sealing of 292 buildings
Ghaziabad, July 29 : In the wake of flooding of roads and parking lots, road cave-ins and wall collapse threatening buildings, Ghaziabad authorities has cracked the whip on constructions done in violation of rules and ordered the sealing of nearly 300 such buildings, an official said on Sunday.
The official said that a survey by GDA officials had detected violation of rules in as many as 292 buildings, following which these were sealed.
"A heavy penalty will be imposed on errying owners," said GDA Chief Engineer V.N. Singh.
After the damage caused by the downpour and danger to public safety due to cave-ins, Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) Vice Chairperson and District Magistrate Ritu Maheshwari had on Friday ordered a survey in the entire notified area in the district.
Following the detection of illegalities, she ordered the booking of five realtors on the charge of taking up digging of basements and leaving the work incomplete, leading to landslides and cave-in of roads and threats to multi-storeyed buildings in the vicinity.
Maheshwari directed Additional District Magistrate Himanshu Gautam to issue an advisory for the evacuation of old buildings on priority in case of any cracks in the structures owing to heavy rain.
She said such buildings should be vacated after taking the opinion of structural engineers.
Directions were issued for evacuation within 24 hours of people residing on river beds in the district due to the alert sounded by the Irrigation Department.
In case of water-logging in low-lying areas, people were advised to inform the flood control room of the Municipal Corporation. The residents welfare associations of high-rise buildings were advised to inform the district administration in case of water flowing into the basements of their residential societies.
Municipal Commissioner C.P. Singh (8178016900), ADM City Himanshu Gautam (7683045193), City Magistrate Santosh Bahadur Singh (8057425869), SDM Loni Satendra Singh (9415633763), SDM Ghaziabad Vivek Mishra (8130240336), SDM Modi Nagar Pawan Agrawal (9454416779) and control room (01202829040) can be contacted in case of emergency.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
