Laggere becomes haven for anti-social elements, women fear to tread after dusk

BENGALURU: Women fear to tread after dusk in Ward 69 of Laggere, Narasimha Layout, where a BBMP park has turned into a haven for illegal activities, consumption of ganja and alcohold. Miscreants molest, tease and misbehave with women and many a times, the hooligans frighten them. So women are scared to step out of their houses at night.

The ground was earlier under the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and was later handed over to the BBMP. There is neither a fence nor lighting facility at this park. People come from different areas and park their cars, smoke ganja in public, and molest girls. Scuffles between drunkards has also become regular feature of late.

The miscreants carry sharp weapons in their cars and bikes, disturb locals, roaming there and shouting at midnight on the ground. The main issue is that the park is not fenced, so all these problems are creating. When confronted with the issues, local BBMP engineer Varanarayan throws up his hands in helplessness, locals say.

Supriya, a resident of the locality, said it has become very difficult for women to step out at night. “There are a lot of problems here. The ground became a parking slot. There is a problem with drunkards and stray dogs”, she said.

Another local, Srinivas, claimed that people from other areas park their cars in the open ground, some consume ganja and alcohol. “Women are scared to come to this area. Fighting between youths, or groups under the influence of alcohol is very common. They used to fight with sharp weapons, bats, wickets. Sometimes, syouth come here to celebrate birthdays of friends, but their arguments end in murder. The authorities are not heeding our problems. The major thing is that there is no fencing on this ground. The miscreants can flee in any direction if the police arrive. We have complained with the authorities concerned, but it has been of no use”, he said.