AGRA: The Agra police are faced with a strange predicament. They are forced to stand guard over flowerpots along the airport-Taj Mahal route. Bizarre as it may sound, dozens of police personnel have been deployed as the city administration grapples with theft and vandalism of flowerpots and other items it had put up to welcome a delegation from the G20 countries earlier this month, ahead of the summit in September.
The area between Kheria Airport and the Taj Mahal comes under four police stations — Shahganj, Sadar, Rakabganj, and Tajganj. Apart from decorations along the route, the administration placed thousands of flower pots and created vertical gardens to present a green image of the city. However, no sooner had the visitors left than reports of vandals and thieves destroying or stealing flowerpots, LED lights, and even banners cropped up.
More than 70 flowerpots were reported stolen on a single night from the Selfie Point on Fatehabad Road, prompting Agra Development Authority vice chairman Charchit Gaur to get an FIR filed at the Tajganj Police Station on 14 February. ThePrint has a copy of the FIR.
According to the police, they recovered 54 stolen flowerpots the next day from the residence of one Pritam Srivastava and arrested him. With inputs from him, they recovered another 12 pots from the residence of his alleged accomplice Sonu, who police say is still on the run. The two have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 379 (theft), 411 (receiving stolen property).
Meanwhile, with the guests set to return to the city in August, the administration is in no mood to redo the beautification exercise from scratch. Now, personnel from the four police stations covering have been deployed to keep the flower pots safe. Police sources told ThePrint that roughly two-three dozen personnel have been deployed, the most being from the Tajganj station. Also, they said that more personnel are on duty during the day when there are more crowds.
Last Monday, during an interaction with media personnel, the Agra divisional commissioner appealed to the public to cooperate even as he discussed various measures to prevent vandalism. Among the measures suggested were extensive police deployment and increased surveillance of vulnerable areas via CCTV.
Appeal to public
Agra police commissioner Dr Pritinder Singh told ThePrint Saturday that much effort has gone into making the city beautiful and it is the residents’ responsibility to maintain that. Not only have there been several thefts, but the freshly painted city has also been splattered with paan spittle, he said.
He warned that the police would now be on the lookout for vandals and thieves. Police personnel have been assigned to various locations to ensure that the flower pots are not stolen. Duties will be rotated every 12 hours, and the posts will be manned round the clock, he said. He also urged citizens to be vigilant and report any instances of vandalism so that appropriate punitive action could be taken.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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