We have not forgotten the Jessica Lal murder case. She was shot dead for refusing to serve liquor to a man in a pub in Delhi, where many believe that you can get away with anything if you are moneyed.
With the rampant commercialisation of residential areas, I feel that such an attitude about money making everything possible is slowly creeping into Bengaluru too. Residential areas across the city are not safe anymore. The arrival of commercial establishments in residential areas has impacted both their safety and the traffic on their roads. Seeing drunkards in these areas late at night has become very common now. In the absence of strong policing, a group of residents in Koramangala installed CCTV cameras across the area at their own cost in the interest of their safety. But even so, the response of the police hasn’t been very good. Even when we produce evidence like CCTV footage and lodge complaints against the rich brats, who disturb the peace of residents, they take little action and so many repeatedly commit the same crime. When we complain, a police vehicle comes and arrests the culprit. But after a short time we see the same person back on the street doing what he always did.
It is the duty of the police to patrol and keep the residential areas safe, but this isn't happening. As the rents are low in these localities, commercial establishments are easily making their way into them. The BBMP should be held responsible for reducing these once peaceful neighbourhoods into commercial hubs. We need to do more community policing and beat policing to keep things in check.
