Noida:

Amid searing heat, the Noida Authority on Wednesday said the first shift of hundreds of its employees in departments engaged in outdoor work will now begin at 6 am.

The authority has also suggested changes in work timings for workers and labourers engaged in construction at private sites during the peak summer season.

In view of the increase in temperature, the working hours for employees engaged in development and maintenance work of civil, water, garden and electricity departments will be from 6 am to 10 am, and 4 pm to 8 pm, the Noida Authority said in a statement.

“The working hours for the sanitation workers… in the Public Health Department will be from 6 am to 12 pm,” it said.

It also suggested similar changes in work timings for employees and labourers working on builder projects and other private construction work under the authority area.

The Noida Authority further said it is building a night shelter with a capacity of 50 to 60 people at the Noida Stadium in Sector 21A to protect the destitute from the heat.

This shelter will have facilities like water coolers and will become fully functional from May 30, according to the statement.

The authority is installing green nets at the main intersections of the city to protect two-wheeler drivers from harsh sunlight while waiting at traffic signals, it added.

Noida and its neighbouring areas, including Delhi, are experiencing peak summer, with the mercury crossing 45 degrees Celsius.

After a day of intense heat, the city witnessed a sudden spell of rain on Wednesday afternoon, bringing residents some much-needed respite from the heat.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Noida:

 A Noida Authority accountant was suspended from service on Thursday after he allegedly reached a meeting at a village under the influence of alcohol, leading to a ruckus as people expressed anger, officials said.

A programme was organised by the Noida Authority on Thursday to redress issues of villagers at the Baraat Ghar of village Hoshiarpur in Sector-51 where accountant Bhim Kumar from the Bhulekh Department along with the officials of Engineering Department also participated.

“Bhim Kumar arrived at the programme drunk while on duty due to which there was a ruckus in the meeting and the villagers expressed their anger,” a Noida Authority official said.

“The action of Kumar is indicative of indiscipline in the government tasks assigned to him. Due to this act, the image of the Authority was tarnished in the public mind,” the official said.

His conduct is against the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Government Service Conduct Rules, 1956 and the prescribed provisions of NOIDA Service Rules, 1981, due to which the accountant has been suspended by the Chief Executive Officer Lokesh M with immediate effect, the official added.

The suspension came within hours of purported videos of the inebriated accountant engaging in an argument with villagers surfaced on social media.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)