Vacant areas in city should be monitored closely

Empty bottles of liquor strewn near a desolate space behind the buffer of the shunting line. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

Residents of Mulund East complained about a druggie menace near the railway tracks and appealed to the railways to take up the matter urgently, a recent report in this paper said. Locals have been quoted saying that drug addicts are using the space which is empty behind the buffer of the shunting line. This is an easy entry-exit point between the Railways and the road.

This shunting neck rail line aligns a dilapidated and unguarded railway colony at one end and an abandoned power sub-station at the other end.

Railway representatives did say they would take action, but to give this a broader perspective, empty desolate spaces do become drug addict havens.

We have witnessed vacant land, usually unkept with two agencies fighting over the space, rapidly dilapidated and turning into a drug addict nest at several places in the city.

Locals have complained of empty, unkept gardens where druggies have a field day. Most of the drug scene happens after sunset, residents may be unaware but used syringes are an indication that nefarious activity is on.

One does understand that it is absolutely impossible to police every inch of the megapolis. Yet, it is important that vacant spaces have an ‘ownership' that gardens or spaces near public infra are very well lit. Surveillance cameras should be functioning and the footage must be concise. The spaces must be well-kept and signage should designate what they are for.

Complaints by locals must be followed up, so that the drug gangs can be busted. Besides the drug scene, addicts often resort to crime and petty theft near that area as they need the money to buy their dope. These then become unsafe spaces in many ways.

Alertness and alacrity should be the norm, the former being vigilant so that one can figure out where such criminal activity is on, and the second, speed in shutting it down.