Amid the chilling winter that has ripped through northern India, with dense fog causing several accidents, authorities have taken a decision to halt the Noida depot bus services from 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM.
The decision is taken against the backdrop of fog that has turned thick in the last few days. The authorities have also decided to suspend the reservation service for night bus journeys for the next month.
Upper speed limit reduced to 75 kmph
In view of reduced visibility due to increasing fog, the upper speed limit on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway has now been fixed at 75 km per hour from 100 km per hour, officials said on Tuesday.
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The upper speed of vehicles has also been capped at 65 km per hour on some other routes in Noida, and motorists violating the speed limit order will face legal action or penalty or both, according to an official statement.
The nearly 25-km long six-lane high speed expressway connects Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, adjoining Delhi, and sees thousands of vehicles daily.
According to the statement, the upper speed limit on the Noida– Greater Noida Expressway has been capped at 75 km per hour while it has been fixed at 65 km per hour on key roads like MP1, MP2, MP 3, DSC, 75-metre wide.
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The decision was taken during a joint meeting of Noida Traffic Police, Noida Authority's Traffic Cell. In view of extreme cold and fog at present, the officials have decided to fix speed limit for the safety of public and to control accidents, the statement mentioned.
“It was also decided in the meeting that action will be taken against the drivers who violate the speed limit as per rules and challans will also be imposed on them. The Noida Traffic Cell was directed to install warning/indicator boards to this effect on all main roads. Challans and other punitive action will be taken by the traffic police,” it added.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Monday instructed departments concerned across Uttar Pradesh to take appropriate measures to check incidents of road crashes and casualties caused in it during winters especially because of fog conditions.
Accidents due to dense fog
One person died and 24 were injured on Tuesday when a bus collided with a truck amid low visibility due to dense fog on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida, police said.
The accident took place around 6.30 am in the Dankaur police station area, and the bus was headed for Delhi from Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Abhishek Verma said.
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A container truck moving ahead of the bus suddenly came to a stop, which caused the bus to crash into it and then hit the the railing along the expressway, he said.
"There were around 60 passengers in the bus. One of them died in the crash but his identity is yet to be ascertained. Another 24 passengers suffered injuries. Some of them have been admitted to the Kailash Hospital and others taken to the GIMS for treatment," Verma said.
In a separate incident this morning, a canter truck loaded with lentils hit a divider of the highway and overturned in the Dadri area of Greater Noida, the police said.
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Occupants of the truck are safe and the vehicle removed from the highway to ensure no disruption to traffic movement on the route, they added.
(With PTI Inputs)
