The Fight - Page 3

Residents supervising work on the fence.
The fence was one of the most visibly effective measures taken by us

The Honorable Councillors, ward nos. 93 and 96 saw to it that heaps of garbage rotting by the pond are carried away as soon as possible. This so that we could fence-off the area and deny access to nuisance creators and litter-bugs. This had another vital effect. In one single day, the writ of the residents was established.

One sunday morning residents congregated by the roadside and the work on the fence began. Whole bamboos were split longitudinally into fours to make crossbars while others were cut into short segments to make posts. Residents, senior or junior, ladies or gents, supervised proceedings throughout the day. There was some tension at one end where the fence abuts some dubious structures. But the procession of police vehicles in the preceding weeks had somewhat softened up our "dadas". We staked our claim to the "green" territory as far as we could.

The fence still stands as it did a year ago, a symbol of our unity and a protest against the polluters - social or environmental. It is maintained by the committee and has been largely intact, notwithstanding occasional infringements. Like what happened in July 2003. A section of the fence was deliberately broken through . Members intervened and had direct discussion with the suspects. We were happy to note that it was repaired soon afterwards. And NOT by us!

Several notices were put up against the fence discouraging nuisance makers, litter-bugs, or trucks intending to park. Some of these notices also thank the residents and our various benefactors. We also maintain a few traffic signs generously donated by the Traffic department. Detractors would comment, "They OUGHT to be generous! After all, their job is being done by the citizens."

We do not believe this. While the authority must use law against the lawbreakers, it is impossible for them to keep a 24 hour vigil on our locality. We LIVE here, we have to do this ourselves. We have to keep a watch over our neighbourhood and inform the police the moment we detect something fishy. BEFORE this "fishiness" develops into something sinister. The authority will be judged by their preparedness to respond to our call. If they do not, we may approach them critically. But that is a different issue.

Same with the Corporation. While we will never forget the accumulated filth in our area in the pre-"Parivesh" days, we have decided to look ahead and judge the administration by their present performance. Again, it is impossible for them to catch every anti-citizen callously dumping filth or spitting betel-juice on the road. While the administration must regularly clean the area, we ourselves must protest the moment we see someone urinating against the fence, or casting garbage across it.

We are happy to note that the police had responded efficiently, once during the dead of the night, whenever there was an ocassion for them to do so. The Councillors have seen to it that garbage is collected on time, and both sides of the road kept clean. Thank you!

But this looks a bit too pink and rosy. Is the world really so perfect? This brings us back to the question of daily vigil...

Read on > The Vigil
Read back < The March

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