The neighborhood of KT Nagar, once an oasis of calmness and peaceful living, has succumbed to an unsettling atmosphere of panic and chaos. The safety of the community is being compromised by a surge in burglaries and a blatant disregard for public order, transforming the suburban landscape into a source of constant anxiety for its residents.

 

At the heart of this growing crisis is the open consumption of alcohol and drugs. As soon as the sun sets, miscreants take advantage of the encroaching darkness to gather in public spaces. Residents report that the sight of individuals smoking weed and drinking liquor in the open has become an everyday occurrence, creating a hostile environment for families. “Don’t they have a family?” one frustrated resident questioned. “Do they care about their lives? What if someone loses his/her life under the influence? Who will be blamed for this?” The social decay has led to direct financial trauma for the local business community. Shop owners, particularly those located on the ground floors of residential buildings, live in fear of the night.

 

Thieves, often emboldened by substances, target these establishments by breaking the locks on shop shutters. In rapid, violent strikes, they steal cash and inventory, leaving behind a trail of property damage and heavy financial losses for the owners to bear alone. A primary reason these miscreants have claimed KT Nagar as their stronghold is the lack of basic infrastructure maintenance. Local residents point toward a specific, unmaintained road heavily overgrown with wild bushes. Because the road is neglected, these bushes grow back within a month, providing a convenient and scary natural screen that allows groups of people to hide easily.

 

This dense foliage not only blocks the path for law-abiding citizens but acts as a perfect, hidden ‘spot’ behind SPCA ground, KT Nagar, for illegal activities. While residents have filed numerous complaints with the police and local authorities, the solution has proven elusive. Although patrolling occasionally increases, the miscreants are quick to adapt, finding new ways to return the moment the sirens go silent. The community remains trapped in a cycle of frustration, waiting for a permanent solution that involves not just law enforcement, but the clearing of the wild vegetation and the restoration of lighting to reclaim their streets from the shadows of neglect. Residents have urged to the concerned authorities to track such late night activities; To maintain the road regularly; and also to build a public toilet as residents face the problem of open urination by some people which is highly unhygenic.