mid-day impact: Residents say they've been fighting to make Sagar Vihar safe for 30 years, authorities shouldn't have waited for a tragedy
Contract workers dig the walking street to install light poles
Nearly a week after a 34-year-old man was brutally assaulted and gangraped by five men in Vashi's Sagar Vihar park, CIDCO is finally putting up street lights in the area. Residents say this is the first time in 30 years that the body has taken an initiative to do something in this area.
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The case, which has shocked even the local cops with its brutality, came to light when the survivor, on Monday night after the assault, managed to reach his family doctor's clinic. He is now being treated at Koparkhairane Gagangiri Multispeciality Hospital. When mid-day had visited the place earlier in the week, we found that while the watchman sits at the main gate of Sagar Vihar, one can easily enter through an open space near Jageshwar Temple. People park their bikes near the temple and walk into Sagar Vihar. Also, the compound and barricades are broken at a few places allowing easy access to the area.
On Saturday, we found some contract workers digging the walking street. They said within the next two days CIDCO officials would ensure that light poles are installed everywhere. One of the labourers, Jaikumar Yadav said, "We have been at this since 8 am and our aim is to install 30 light poles on the walking path." Residents claim that they have been requesting CIDCO to maintain this place since a long time, but it has moved only now.
Rohit Malhotra, a resident, said, "This is the first time we will see lights in this area. Why does the authority wait till someone dies or suffers? All of us, including children, are scared after hearing about this rape case. We never visited this area after 7 pm because we have faced inebriated people and felt it was dangerous."
Residents have noticed that people who come here are not locals. They are mostly outsiders. Kunal Tiwari, resident of Sector 17, said, "Those who live in the area may come here, drink a beer and go back home. No one stays back or gets into a fight. It's outsider who stay beyond midnight. If we ask why, they say there's no train or they start quarrelling." CIDCO PRO refused to comment on the issue.
30
No. of light poles that will be installed on the walking path
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