by Dr. Asha Bakshi (A-125 NFC)
The security and welfare of every resident should take precedence before anything else especially the elderly people and the residents who don’t have staff to protect them. One such situation endangering a senior citizen occurred in ‘A block’, NFC where in an altercation between who had parked in neighbour’s lot got into an aggressive verbal fight with his hands flailing in the face of the senior citizen. The driver even called out to other drivers to come and abuse this senior citizen. I had to intervene in disbelief and initially I was also unable to help. It took me all my inner strength to overcome the fear and stop the verbal abuse from converting into a physical assault on the senior citizen/resident. In context of this I realized we need to make an immediate effort to protect the weak residents of our colony including senior citizens, single people etc living in the colony. We should have a team of volunteers working okay with the RWA and the police for the safety of the residents in the colony. A few suggestions can help:
1) report any such abusive incident to the RWA/ cops and offender name written down for further reference. In case there is a repeat offense then stricter action to be taken.
2) All gaurds and drivers/staff to have an id issued by the RWA and records of their residence Aadhaar etc maintained. The names of those staff who have been removed should be noted so that in future we know why some help was fired or let go.
3) All staff to be trained in social etiquette with neighbours. For example not to park outside someone else’s gate unless authorized correctly. Not to litter the roads etc. Maybe RWA office can do once a month class which is required for all staff to attend. This may also help upkeep of records.
4) No guards or staff can accumulate to gamble or have tea in groups (which leads on to other activities like drinking) on the roads.
5) Staff cannot park their personal vehicles anywhere else except in their employers’ premises.
6) Strict action taken against any staff misbehaving or littering or gambling etc if there is a complaint or photographic evidence.
The core volunteer group can maintain such records with the RWA and also have the group visible on social media for senior citizens to reach out in times of need. In case cops are called directly, the group should also be notified to provide further support.
