Gurgaon: Security goes south in Palam Vihar!

The lack of adequate security measures at Palam Vihar, situated in Gurgaon at the Delhi-Haryana border, has become a cause for concern for residents of the area.

There are four routes towards Delhi but there are no police check points, which makes it easy for miscreants to commit a crime and cross over to another state. Lack of police patrolling in the area also makes residents an easy target for criminals.

Residents say that they can no longer rely on the only operational police station in the area, situated near Rotary Public School. They say no strong step has been taken by the police despite several complaints.

The state of affairs is such that the RWA of Palam Vihar has employed about 100 security guards at entrances and at the three beat booths it has set up. It has also put gates at the entry and exit of each block.

A non-operational police post in Palam Vihar

“We have deployed four bikes to support police constables in patrolling and constructed a 12-foot high fence on the main road, which has an accommodation for them,” says Sunil Yadav, president of the RWA.

Residents hold people residing in slums and villages of surrounding areas, such as Palam, Chauma, Bijwasan and Bajghera, responsible for the frequent thefts of vehicles and rear-view mirrors, and incidents of chain snatching.

YP Sharma, a resident, says, “We have to deal with men from nearby slums and villages drinking liquor openly and molesting women. Women and children feel unsafe due to the increasing number of instances of hooliganism and molestation.”

When City Spidey spoke to Sandeep Kumar, SHO, Palam Vihar Police Station, he said, “We have only 40 police personnel to cover Palam Vihar, which is spread across 700 hectares. Due to shortage of manpower, it becomes difficult to guard the area.”

However, he added, “We are still trying to curb crime as far as possible and are coordinating with residents to ensure a peaceful environment.”