Let’s be more vigilant about our open spaces

The ground in Navagaon, Dahisar West, is used by schoolchildren from the area to play during the day

A ground in Navagaon in Dahisar West where schoolchildren play in the morning turns into a den of vice at sunset. Fed up with the recurring nuisance, locals have written to the MLA to take strict action against the miscreants.

The 200-square metre ground is crowded with drunkards and drug addicts every night and the party continues till the wee hours. Fed up with the loud abusive talk and the ruckus, people have tried to intervene but it invariably turns into unnecessary fights, which are best avoided, a complainant stated in a report in this paper. He added that installing adequate lights and CCTV cameras along with posting security personnel is the only solution to the problem.

A school principal has seen empty liquor bottles and glasses strewn on the ground. This is especially disturbing as school buses are parked near the ground and students see this almost every day. Since complaints have already come in, now all that is needed is a check for a couple of days about the veracity of this, which certainly sounds credible, and a quick clean-up action.

Safeguarding grounds or little green patches does not simply mean saving them from the builder's bulldozer. It also means keeping them free from elements indulging in unsavoury activities. In that way, they are used for the purpose they are meant for - recreational spaces for the citizenry.

Several gardens have to guard against alcoholics and drug addicts who seem to have a free run, if the space is open and crowds leave as night falls.

Sharp CCTV surveillance, backed up by security guards that are effective, will go some way in arresting this menace. Encroachers and anti-social elements are the two biggest bugbears of these precious spaces. We need to act on them, now.