Noida: Ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, the Noida police on Friday asked mall and bar operators to ramp up security during the festival season. This comes after the Noida police held a meeting with operators of shopping malls and bars to review security arrangements.
The police also issued a warning, saying they would take strong action in cases of drunk driving, but they also said that this time, as part of an innovative programme, they would be setting up hired cabs with vetted drivers to enable drinkers to reach home safely.
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.
Noida police holds review meeting at NEA Bhawan
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.
Police outlined govt norms to bar and mall operators
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 loudspeakers and its timing," the DCP said.
The IPS officer said in view of the expected crowd on December 25 and December 31/January 1, the 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.
Notably, the police also 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.
(With inputs from PTI)
