Only park in Maqsudan turns dumpyard!

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, February 28

With no space left within the police station premises to keep seized and unclaimed vehicles, the Maqsudan police have encroached on a nearby park. The only greenbelt in the area has turned into a scrap yard now and is causing inconvenience to the locals living nearby.

The situation at other police chowkis or police stations in the district is no different as scrapped vehicles, covered in dust and ruins, are simply jostling for space and giving hard time to those visiting police stations.

Police officials say in several cases owners of these vehicles never turn up, therefore, they have no option but to keep the vehicles in the custody as long as the trial goes on or until the court grants permission to release them. Moreover, as they do not have a separate yard or parking lot for these vehicles, they have been compelled to keep it either on the road or park or whatever empty space they have near the police stations.

Rajinder Sharma, a resident of Maqsudan, says the cops have occupied crucial public space such as roads, parks, footpaths, etc., outside the police station in the city to keep these rusted vehicles. “Such spaces where these seized vehicles have been dumped have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and insects,” he adds.

Kamaljeet Kaur, another resident of Urban Estate Phase I, pointing out at the condition of the Police Division Number 7, says with the parking lot of the police station full to its capacity with seized vehicles, visitors are parking their vehicles on the road. Due to this, residents are facing a lot of problems.

She says with no mechanism in place to dispose of these vehicles, the number of vehicles is increasing by the day, obstructing the movement of pedestrians and bike-borne commuters. SSP (Rural) Swarandeep Singh says the process to dispose of these vehicles is under way and would be done soon.

Breeding ground for mosquitoes

The police have occupied crucial public spaces outside the police station to keep these rusted vehicles. The encroached spaces have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and insects. Rajinder Sharma, Maqsudan resident

Looking for spacious site

The department is looking for a big dumping site, where the scrapped vehicles from all police stations could be kept. We have written to higher-ups. Soon, we will come out with a solution as these vehicles give an ugly look to the police stations. Kuldeep Singh Chahal, Police Commissioner