Relaxing at the end of the day along Bandra’s Carter Road. Picture: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images
Pyaar mein doobo, paani mein nahin: DCP Prasanna | |||||||||
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If you were planning to spend Valentine's Day looking into your lover's eyes while the waves crashed into the rocks around you, think again.
City police and BMC officials are worried that the high tide on the day might be dangerous for couples who venture into the sea. The tide will reach 3.84 m by afternoon on February 14 and 4.34 m at 1 am on February 15. "We will do everything possible to prevent any untoward incident on Valentine's Day, but young lovers need to be careful if they venture into the sea. Pyaar mein doobo, paani me nahin," said DCP Zone 9 K M M Prasanna. S S Shinde, joint municipal commissioner (Disaster Management), has appealed to public not to venture into the sea. "Usually when the high tide comes in, it becomes difficult to sense the rising level of water. Though we have put up caution notices across certain beaches and deployed lifeguards, we still request the public not to take a chance." A BMC officer from the disaster management control room said they advise people not to venture into the sea if the tide level is above 3 m. 'Will fine them'Senior PI Prakash George added, "We do not want to play moral police. We will ask couples to refrain from entering the sea, but if they don't listen, we will fine them under the Bombay Police Act." Chief Fire Officer Uday Tatkare also agreed that people should avoid sitting near the sea on Valentine's Day. Gift shops too Not just the sea front, cops will also keep a vigil at night clubs, pubs and gift shops. "We will ensure that vulgar messages written in the form of greeting cards and gifts are not displayed in gift shops. If found, action will be taken under various provisions of the IPC," added George.
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U-turn over note on moral policing at isolated spots
Mumbai Police commissioner Satyapal Singh in a January 14 circular issued to 93 police stations in the city, said couples should avoid rock-beds and isolated places.
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Police commissioner Satyapal Singh in a January 14 circular issued to 93 police stations in the city, said couples should avoid rock-beds and isolated places at spots like Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Worli Sea Face, Marine Drive, Bandra bandstand, Versova beach, Aksa beach, Dadar Chowpatty, Madh Island, Gorai, Manori beach, Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu beach. "By visiting such isolated places or the rock bed of the sea or beach front, couples are risking attack either at the hands of miscreants or endangering themselves during high tide. Those found violating the law will be fined under the Bombay Police Act," the circular stated.
The circular said the couples would be first asked to leave the isolated places and if they don't do so, action would be initiated against them under relevant sections of the Bombay Police Act such as imposing penalty, detaining them, among others.
Strangely, once news of the circular, which reached police stations on January 24, was leaked, it was amended the very same day. DCP Ambadas Pote told TOI on Thursday that it was a old circular which was issued to police stations on January 14 and a few sentences in it were later changed. "Mumbai Police subsequently amended the circular, saying cops will not ask couples to leave but patrolling will be increased at such isolated spots. The wordings have now been changed. The changes were made on Thursday in the circular issued 10 days ago. We wanted to convey that we are not against citizen's rights. The new amended information is to protect couples at isolated places from miscreants. We have informed the 12 zonal DCPs to include the update in the circular done today," said Pote. "The move was initiated by the police commissioner after the Delhi gangrape case in December. The order was asked to be implemented at police station-level two to three days ago," he said.
"We are not taking action against couples visiting public places. Our duty is to check isolated spots in the city frequented by couples, where there are chances of their lives being at risk," he clarified.
The initial circular had common citizens and activists up in arms. Former IPS officer-turned-lawyer Y P Singh asked how police "can ask a person or a couple to move from one place" just in the name of preventive measures. "Under the Principles of Administrative Law such kind of circulars should be made public in official gazette before it is implemented. Again the police should not violate the law by harassing couples who sits in an isolated corner of a garden, park or seafronts where people presence is there," said Singh.
Prakash Padikkal, president of Hillside Residents' Welfare Association (HIRWA-NGO), said while the Mumbai Police move to ensure people's safety was welcome, it could be used in a negative way to harass people. A college student said, "Any move to empower cops to fine or take other action against couples because they are sitting at a place is likely to be violated by corrupt cops who will use it as a tool to extort money from youngsters in the name of preventive measures. Either we have to shell out the fine or bribe the cops."
Event management professional Deepak Tiwari, a Mulund resident said, "If the commissioner had issued such a circular, then where would lovers go? We youngsters are being cramped from all sides by archaic laws. We can't go to public places, neither can we tweet or freely express ourselves on social media. Everything is kept under watch. How did the cops plan to explain where a person should stand and where not?" Citing the Mulund case, where 16 couples were fined for indecency on December 29, 2012, he said, "They were caught from a public garden. It was clearly a violation of the fundamental rights of a citizen."
Times View: Don't use new circular for moral policing
Acting against people who sit on the rocks off Bandstand during low tide may be part of a policeman's regular job. But targeting couples strolling on Bandstand is an entirely different issue. There's a tendency here to pick on soft targets - people who are potential victims of crime - and forget the criminals. The initial circular betrays exactly that tendency and the hasty flipflop does nothing to hide that. The state must protect the law-abiding citizen's freedom of movement and crack down on that of the criminal's. Locking people inside their homes is not the right approach to tackling crime on the streets.
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Where O where should lovers in Mumbai go?
Mahafreed Irani | Agency: DNA | Friday, January 25, 2013
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Couple rescued off Bandra promenade
READ MORE Khar Police|Bandra Promenade
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"The two were sitting on a rock and got stranded due to the rising tide. They were surrounded by water and lost their balance," said a police officer.
"They were floundering and screamed for help. Another couple sitting nearby spotted them and called up the police control room," he added. The police alerted the fire brigade. Later, fishermen and fire department personnel managed to rescue the two. Kumar (25) resides in Vashi while Sarita (18) is a Santa Cruz resident. "The two confessed that since it was their first visit to the seafront, they were unaware of the danger of rising tides," the officer said.
The Khar police made a diary entry of the incident and verified their details before allowing them to go. Last year, the police put up boards at several places warning youngsters not too close to the sea. "We patrol the area and warn people about the danger," said an official.
Tides Play Havoc
Fishermen and fire brigade officials rescued five couples in February 2011 off Carter Road in Bandra.
The couples sat on the rocks in the sea and they didn't realize that the high tide was setting in.
Cops spotted two couples between the rocks and alerted fishermen and the fire brigade.
Five couples were rescued with the help of life jackets and ropes.
