Noida DM Replaced After Yogi Hits Out at Him During COVID-19 Meet

UP Chief Secretary RK Tiwari said that Singh has been transferred and Suhas LY will be appointed the new DM,

File image of UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

(Photo: IANS)

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lashed out at Gautam Buddha Nagar’s district magistrate, BN Singh, on Monday, 30 March, during a meeting to review the preparations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Following this, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary RK Tiwari said that Singh has been transferred and Suhas LY will be appointed the new DM, PTI reported.

In a video posted online, the CM can be heard telling the official:

“Stop your nonsense. By constantly spouting your nonsense you people have spoiled the atmosphere here.”

It is unclear what the DM was saying to have provoked this response.

Shortly after the meeting, a letter circulating online shows, Singh purportedly wrote to the state’s chief secretary requesting a three-month leave, saying he does not wish to remain at his post due to “personal reasons”.

He also purportedly requested that his replacement be appointed since government posts shouldn’t remain empty while the nation deals with the coronavirus outbreak.

In his latest order on Monday, the DM laid out provisions for the payment of workers who were supposed to be paid during the quarantine period. Payments are now allowed during 30-31 March or 3-4 April in the district.

Meanwhile, an FIR was registered against a private company whose staffers, including a foreigner who visited the firm recently, are suspected to have infected 13 people with coronavirus in Noida and Greater Noida, officials told PTI.

The FIR has been registered under the Uttar Pradesh Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, on the basic of a complaint by Gautam Buddh Nagar Chief Medical Officer Aurag Bhargava, the officials said.

As on Saturday, 28 March, Gautam Buddh Nagar has recorded 26 coronavirus positive cases, including 13 people whose contact of infection could be traced to the Cease Fire company, the Health Department said in a statement.

(With inputs from PTI)