Zirakpur crime rate up by four times
From Vishal Joshi

ZIRAKPUR, Dec 30 — Crime graph in this small township increased nearly four times this year. Last year, 55 criminal cases were registered at Lohgarh police chowki. It jumped to 192 cases this year.

Haphazard growth in the area was cited as one of the major reasons which led to illegal and criminal acts. Police sources said this year, the local police registered about 18 cases against local colonisers, who indulged in unauthorised building activities in adjoining areas.

Zirakpur is of strategic importance as it connects the entire northern region with national capital and other parts of the country. The police sources maintained that due to heavy rush in Zirakpur, it had become an accident prone zone.

Last year, 25 cases of accidents were reported. An estimate says more than a dozen vehicles per minute pass through Zirakpur every day. Lack of sufficient staff on traffic control is one of the problems.

“VIP duty and other works were also a hindrance in controlling traffic”, according to sources. Enquires on Thursday revealed that no traffic policeman was on duty on the day. Sources said the entire force had been deputed in other parts of the state for the past few days.

Liquor smuggling increased three times as compared to last year. Last year, 13 cases of smuggling were registered with the local police. The local police registered 37 cases in this year.

A police official said the area had witnessed a sharp growth for the past 10 years, but nothing concrete had been done to control it by the authorities. With an increase in construction activities in the area, several migrant labourers have settled in the area. The sources said they were unable to put a check on them due to political pressure. The increased population, had become a vote bank for political parties. The police has no record of these migrants due to lack of their permanent addresses.

In September, there were two cases of theft, where a few unidentified persons broke into houses and beat the residents mercilessly. In December, three Home Guard personnel were arrested on charges of committing robbery at a gunpoint.

Sources in the police department said adjoining villages were developing at a great pace, while the police was short of staff. The chowki has about 40 personnel, including Special Protection Officers, Home Guards and the regular police staff.

The police chowki covering such a large area has only two vehicles — a gypsy and a motorcycle. Police officials said this was not sufficient to patrol the entire area and to take other routine activities. As many as 15 villages fall under the jurisdiction of the local police chowki, while the police station of the area is housed in Dera Bassi, about 10 km from here.

The entire area of Zirakpur is divided between two police districts, Ropar and Patiala. Often the public is confused as to where to run for redressal of problems.

The sources added that on occasions, it was confusing for the police posts as to whether the particular area was under their jurisdiction.

Living amid insanitary conditions
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 30 — With the garbage littered around at the entrance of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) complex in Sector 61, the residents of the area are exposed to a serious health hazard.

The area, which is close to the newly-constructed roundabout near the Yadvindra Public School, SAS Nagar, has become an eyesore for the residents of Sector 61 and Phase 7. Repeated complaints to the authorities concerned have fallen on deaf ears, alleged the residents.

A visit to the area today revealed that in the absence of any garbage bin, residents threw the garbage in the open, creating insanitary conditions. A garbage bin, which was place at the site, had been removed by the authorities, making the situation still worse.

Apart from that, rag-pickers made the situation worse by shuffling through the garbage and littering it in the area, including the V-3 road passing through the area. They separated the polythene from the garbage and threw the garbage around, which attracted stray cattle.

The residents rued the fact that despite spending lakhs of rupee on owning CHB flats, they have to live amid insanitary conditions. The littered garbage emitted such a foul smell that it was virtually impossible to pass through the area without covering one’s nose.

The littered garbage attracted stray cattle, which was a serious traffic hazard. In the absence of streetlights in the area, the stretch was a driver’s nightmare.

The residents, while demanding the sprucing up of the area and placing of garbage bin, said streetlights in the area should be repaired.

Power cuts bane of Zirakpur
From Our Correspondent

ZIRAKPUR, Dec 30 — Residents of Zirakpur and the villages in the surrounding area are facing unscheduled power cuts for the past few days.

A resident of Zirakpur complained that the area was facing power cuts in the morning for more than three hours for past the four days. A part of the area remained without power due to failure of phases. A shopkeeper running a confectionary store in Bartana village said that his business was affected due to power failure.

The irregular power supply has also affected drinking water supply in the area. A majority of the residents have their own arrangements for water supply and they complain that they have to remain without water.

Unannounced power cuts that last hours together, resulted in limiting the supply of water, the residents complained.