Snatchings rampant, visitors at Rose Garden fear for safety

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 25

Owing to lack of proper security arrangements, hooliganism is on the rise in and around the Rose Garden area. Visitors to the garden also fear for their safety as the number of snatching incidents has also gone up here.

Notably, there are seven gates to the Rose Garden and only three security guards are available to maintain vigil. City residents in large numbers throng the park in the morning and evening hours for a walk and jogging. 

The garden is spread across around 28 acres and owing to inadequate arrangements of security, incidents of hooliganism and snatching come to the fore every alternate day. The roadside vendors and daily visitors said not all incidents are reported to the police and as a result, the mischievous elements continue to roam freely in and around the park.

A vendor in the area said, “Last week, a group of five persons started misbehaving with a couple inside the park. With their behaviour it appeared that they had taken some intoxicant or drugs. They threatened the couple, took money and fled after scaling the wall of the garden. We get to see such incidents every alternate day.”

A daily visitor to the park said, “Hooligans can be spotted either quarrelling with each other or those visiting the park. Some of them stay inside the park throughout the day and target visitors in broad daylight. Others lurk behind trees during evening/night hours and target visitors. It is utterly unsafe. If such hooliganism prevails in public places like this, nobody would feel safe coming out for a walk. The police authorities need to take a serious note of the issue and deploy staff here to ensure a safe and secure environment. Moreover, the MCB also need to increase the strength of security guards since Rose Garden in spread across a large area and it is not possible for three guards to maintain vigil in the entire area all at once.”

Visitors also rued that there was no check or scrutiny of any kind on those entering the park. “We are surprised as to what is keeping the authorities concerned from taking action in this matter or are they waiting for some untoward incident of grievous nature to take place before they could take some concrete action in the matter?” a resident said.

Khem Chand, Station House Officer, Thermal police station, said “No snatching incident was reported to us from the Rose Garden in the past few months. Two incidents of two-wheeler theft were reported to us. Our PCR remains stationed near Rose Garden during morning hours and we ensure that regular checking is done in the area for the safety of visitors.” 

City Mayor Balwant Rai Nath could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.