Dr Sangeeta Sharma, 65, Principal of Pandit Sujan Singh Degree College in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), says law & order has remarkably improved in the Yogi regime
The western Uttar Pradesh, the area where I have been living, is often popularly referred to as the Badlands of the state. There is a saying in several households here: when the Sun goes down, you lie down. This means women and even men are advised not to travel or step outside during late hours as criminals rule the streets after sunset.
However, things have drastically changed in the last five years since Yogi Adityanath took reins of the state as Chief Minister.
Earlier, even daylight crimes chain snatching, petty robberies, eve teasing, molestation in colleges and universities were order of the day. It is not difficult to imagine if this was the situation in urban areas, how things would be in rural pockets. But, as I said, that was before Yogi took charge.
His government apparently placed law and order as its top priority as the state administration, including police, started rebuilding the trust of people with positive steps that were visible, right after he took over. One of the first such step was forming anti-Romeo surveillance squads.
I know that these squad drew widespread criticism from several quarters, but the critics have little idea about the plight of school- and college-going girls. Miscreants on bikes had made commuting to educational institutions a miserable experience. Being a degree college principal, I know what hardships my students were facing. Today, eve teasing and molestations have become extremely rare.
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It is heartening to see the police being sensitive to crime against women in Uttar Pradesh. Even the complaints made on a micro-blogging site like Twitter are taken seriously by the UP Police social media cell and promptly pursued. This is a dramatic change, an unprecedented one, and it could not have been possible unless the orders came right from the top.
We had never imagined that such a safe environment would be brought in Meerut and nearby areas in our lifetime. The presence of police has increased, which gives us more confidence. Now we can go out for a walk after dinner fearlessly as police patrol vehicles are scaling the streets throughout the night.
There is another local example to prove my point. There used to a ‘Chor Bazaar’ called Soti Ganj in Meerut and everyone in the district administration knew that stolen cars and bikes were brought in there every day, dismantled and then the spare parts sold in black market.
The market had been in business for as long as we can recall. Yet, little action was ever taken to stem the rot. It was a blot on our city as even people as far as from Delhi-Noida mentioned it as stolen vehicle haven. Mercifully, under the Yogi rule, the infamous trade has been kicked out of the city.
One can have ideological differences with the party that Yogi Adityanath belongs to but his good work has to be appreciated. Of course, there is a long way to go to strengthen the law and order in the state but the sense of safety and security which has been brought about under his rule is praiseworthy. Yogi is taking the state into the right direction.
I hope that others states also follow the same route to make India a safe country for every citizen, and women in particular.
As Told To Deepti Sharma