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Kritika Kanwar
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 23
As Mohali Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Kaur Sapra issued fresh instructions to ensure that no pubs and discotheques serve liquor post-midnight, it seems the revellers have found a new haven for late night celebrations. The six-lane flyover in New Chandigarh that connects Chandigarh with Baddi and Kurali on the NH-21 has become an open bar for them. Easy access to liquor due to mushrooming liquor vends in New Chandigarh has further aggravated the situation.
On weekends, a large number of party poppers can be seen letting their hair down by consuming liquor publicly and playing loud music. Lack of police patrolling has further led to a spike in such incidents, raising security concerns. Area residents too have expressed security concerns at midnight.
Priya Sood, a resident of Omaxe township in New Chandigarh, said, “I work at a call centre in Chandigarh and come late in the night. Last Saturday, I came across around 10-15 youths drinking beer and playing loud music on the link road that connects my society with the flyover. It is unsafe not just for women but also for men. Moreover, I have never come across even a single vehicle of the Punjab Police on patrolling.”
“I come to Chandigarh from Baddi on weekends. A large number of cars are parked alongside the flyover. Boys and sometimes girls can be seen drinking and dancing. There is a risk of inebriated youths entering into a scuffle with passers-by,” said Praveen Sharma, a businessman.
Clearly, the revellers have been able to do this due to the slackness of police. While Section 68(1)B of the Punjab Police Act, 2007, abstains people from drinking in the public, the police seem to be ignoring it. Mullanpur SHO Rajesh Hastir said, “We have not come across any such complaint. We have already deployed two police vans- one at the Mullanpur barrier and the other at the Siswan T-point. If we get any such information, we will book people for hooliganism.”
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