Parks wear a deserted look after antiRomeo drive
Many couples harassed by female and male cops, say staff at Lohia Park
With a huge green cover of almost 2 lakh sq ft, including 15,000 trees of 50 species, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Park is considered one of the greenest places in UP. But it wore a ‘deserted’ look on Friday, courtesy the ongoing ‘Anti-Romeo’ drive launched by the state government.
“Greenery is not the only ‘ingredient’ that infuses life in a park. It’s also the people, mainly the couples, who are missing since the drive was launched,” said Chandrika Kumar, a guard at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Park that came into existence in 2007.
Kumar said the anti-Romeo drive has become a cause of harassment for visitors.
The Uttar Pradesh Police formed Anti-Romeo squads a day after Aditya Nath Yogi took charge as chief minister on March 19.
The park that used to be visited by around 1,000 couples a day was abandoned on Friday. The staff in the park said during the drive on Thursday many couples were harassed and even manhandled by female and male cops.
“A couple sitting in the park was manhandled by a woman cop, after which they kept crying and pleading,” said another guard at the Lohia Park.
The situation was no different at other parks in the city.
Apart from park staff, couples also found the drive ‘objectionable’ and ‘baseless’.
“It’s unfair on the part of police as they don’t have the right to interfere in anybody’s personal life. Moral policing is not required here,” said a college-goer.
Reacting to the government’s move, another college student said: “I don’t think that the AntiRomeo Squad is ensuring any safety to women. It’s only adding to their miseries and making lives of youngsters hell. We never voted for this.”
“The drive has lost its purpose and the Uttar Pradesh government should intervene immediately. Before pulling up youths, cops should try to ascertain who the Romeo is. If couples are sitting or moving in parks with consent, then it’s nobody’s business to pull them up,” said a school teacher.
The Aam Aadmi Party also accused the newly constituted Anti-Romeo Squads of harassing youths.
Vaibhav Maheshwari, state spokesperson, AAP, demanded immediate abolition of these squads active across the state.
He demanded that the state government must first expedite inquiry into all cases of crime against women lodged at police stations across the city.