Srinagar, Jan 2: Wednesday’s acid attack has raised serious concerns over the safety of girls in general and those studying at various coaching centers across the Valley in particular.
The incident has evoked widespread condemnation from various circles with student fraternity and non-government organizations pitching for daily police rounds around the coaching centers.
Parents and students who spoke to Greater Kashmir said there were little security measures in place to check the nuisances around coaching centers. “We are seriously worried over the growing unruliness of youths around coaching centers. The behavior of these youths who roam around all day is not healthy for academic environment. We are worried for the security of our children. If today a youth threw acid on a girl’s face, tomorrow it could be anyone else,” said a parent, Sheikh Aashiq, a resident of Rajbagh.
Sheikh said Wednesday’s incident was a gruesome happening and the culprit must be punished. “We have many times heard that unruly things were taking place around Bhagat. We have even appealed the managers of the coaching centers to facilitate action against the hooligans but given the situation students are caught in on daily basis, nothing seems to have been done on the grave issue,” he said.
The incident, according to students, has exposed the lax role of law enforcement agencies to tackle the growing social evils in the Valley. “So many social evils have cropped in and around the coaching centers that we fear going there now, particularly to Bhagat. In the area there is a serious problem of hooliganism. The irony is that nobody is checking it and trying to put an end to it,” said a 12th standard student of Bemina, Bisma. “If police can manage patrols in rest of the places, why can’t it just have a look at Bhagat and see what is happening,” she said.
Non-government organizations blame the growing number of coaching centers in the city, particularly at Bhagat, for emergence of what they call hooliganism. “Bhagat has become a place of nuisances. The whole area is dominated by coaching centers and in each one there are more than 500 students, both boys and girls. This whole phenomenon can also be attributed to the increasing number of shacks in the name of coaching centers,” said general secretary of a local voluntary organization- J&K Youth Development Forum- Umar Bhat.
He said the role of police to put an end to the nuisances around coaching centers was must. “If things like Wednesday’s incident continue to take place here, we are not in a better place and we must act unanimously. Police have a role to play and of course society too has to come forward,” he said.
The organization held a demonstration at Bhagat seeking arrest of the accused who threw acid on a girl’s face Wednesday. “Although police have arrested the culprit of today’s incident, there is much to do and get this place rid of growing menace of social evils,” he said.
Earlier, many eve-teasing incidents have been reported in and around coaching centers across the city with parents demanding police surveillance.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 2 Jan 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 2 Jan 2013 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 3 Jan 2013 00:00:00 IST