Residents take measures to address rising crime

Belagavi: Residents of sector 11 of Mahantesh Nagar have taken up measures by themselves to cope with rising cases of crime, especially thefts. Chandramati Vernekar, a resident, said that in past two weeks, four vehicles were stolen and many attempts of house thefts were reported. There was an incident of chain snatching by masked miscreants on a bike. They injured the woman, who managed to saved her golden chain but lost her cellphone.“Due to a repeat of such crimes, we residents of 210 houses held a meeting at Pragati Garden recently and decided to take some measures to cope with the situation. We have been installing CCTV cameras at every road and corner. Some households have also been installing cameras. Besides, we have decided to park our vehicles inside the gates instead of the road at night,” Chandramati said. A local NGO has distributed sound vigil tools to all 210 households. Residents have been asked to sound the vigil if they find anything doubtful in their neighbourhood at night. “This is nothing, but for self-protection,” Halagappa Chinchalkatti said.Some leaders also met city police commissioner MB Boralingaiah and the CPI of the local Malmaruti police station and submitted the memorandum and urged that the police increase the night beat patrol. Chandramati said the police has responded positvely to their appeal. Residents also met Rudresh Ghali, the commissioner of Belagavi City Corporation (BCC), and urged him to arrange for street lights, especially around the Pragati Garden.