NEW DELHI, Feb 4: The Capital with its own array of VIPs, including Ministers and MPs, has been a favourite target of attack by anti-social elements, more so in the recent past. But, in spite of the spate of bomb blasts and attacks on individuals, it is ironical that the residents of many of the posh colonies here resist ``too much of security'', because it is ``inconvenient''.
The neighbourhood watch scheme, which has been promoted for years as an effective way of maintaining security by involving the residents of a colony, has had a low level of success.
One colony where the scheme has been a success is the Kailash Hills colony. According to SN Agarwal, president of the residents' welfare association (RWA), the scheme has been in place in the colony for three years. The scheme involves the appointment of a coordinator for a group of houses. The coordinator's job is to maintain contact with the residents in the group and also to meet new residents. Records of each resident are maintained.
Residentsare encouraged to inform their neighbours before leaving their house. ``The neighbour then checks up on the house every now and then to see everything is in order,'' said Agarwal. ``We also periodically advise residents on basic safety precautions.''
The biggest problem in implementing the scheme, he says is in getting the people to interact. ``People have no time these days and any free time they have they would rather spend watching TV rather than getting to know their neighbours. So getting people to meet and to get to know who they live next to was a big step. Nowadays, the police are also more responsive than they were earlier.''
But many other colonies have not implemented the scheme and have had to evolve alternative measures. But in many cases, safety and security often conflicts with convenience, with ``too much'' security being resisted by residents.
According to Yogesh Khanna, chairman of the federation of RWA of Vasant Kunj, over 90 per cent of the money collected from the residents for theupkeep of the colonies goes towards security. But residents do not want too much security either. ``The police tell us to keep only one entrance to each colony open, to have high boundary walls and fencing and other security features. But then residents feel imprisoned in their own homes,'' he said. Only eight blocks out of the 25 have implemented the neighbourhood watch scheme in Vasant Kunj.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
