Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
As a moral responsibility towards the welfare of the community, an NGO, All India Payam-e-Insaniyat Forum, has started to counsel youths, spotted spending leisure hours by chatting and enjoying in the open space of Aurangabad Times Colony till late night hours.
It may be noted that to maintain the law and order situation in the city, the new commissioner of police (CP), Manoj Lohia, has ordered closure of all commercial shops and establishments (especially the hotels, food joints, tea stalls, paan shops) by 11 pm sharply. Hence the cops are on heels to ensure the market closes down on dot. They would disperse citizens and youths telling them to go away. They do not allow anyone to sit in the groups on the road, square or circle. The cops would also take action against violators.
Earlier, the hotels and other food joints were kept open till late in the night. As a result, these were the most sought after places for the youths to spend their leisure time till late in the night. Now, after the closure of the shops in the market, the youths were seen making their way to spend time at the open space in Aurangabad Times Colony. The space is totally dark due to the absence of streetlights and the youths were seen spending their time till 2 am or 3 am. However, this was causing inconvenience to the residents of the locality.
Sensing the seriousness of the issue, the NGO started to contact and counsel the youths, discouraging them from spending time late at night and encouraging them to go home and sleep. The initiative is being lauded by the residents and the positive response from the youths is yielding results.
The office-bearers of the NGO have also met the commissioner of police (CP) and discussed the matter in this regard.