Patna, Aug. 5: Love is in the air, but the romance is being snuffed out.

“Moral policemen” in the form of security guards, officials and even the elderly citizens are playing spoilsport for the young and in love.

“Going out is looked down upon. Even sitting together with a male friend draws glares and sneers, forget holding hands or hugging,” said Sohini (name changed), a third year student of Patna Women’s College who has been dating a boy from Patna University for the past year.

The young guns say Patna, for all its attempts at going forward and keeping pace with the rest of the country, is finding it difficult to shed its conservative past.

“Where do we go to spend some time by ourselves? Unlike metros, which have malls and lot of cafes where youngsters can hang out, Patna has very few places where couples can actually sit and talk. But even then there are restrictions,” said Neesha (name changed), a student who is thinking of moving to Delhi for higher studies and break free of the shackles.

With almost no places for them, roaming around in auto-rickshaws is probably the best option, say couples.

“It is comparatively safer. Hiring a rickshaw and then moving around the city for an hour or so works. It is a bit uncomfortable, but definitely better than sitting somewhere and getting stared at and also being abused sometimes. It has worked for us so far,” said Sudhir and Neha (both name changed).

The pangs of the youngsters are justified. Cupid may have struck but there is an army of men out there looking for “love-birds” and “fining” them for what they perceive as “obscene” behaviour.

For example, the authorities of Patna zoo, a favourite of the young twosomes, have decided to come down heavily on couples who take advantage of the solitude to steal a quick kiss. Signboards placed in the zoo calls for a fine of Rs 250 for any kind of “obscene acts”, which, according to the lexicon of the moral guardians, even includes an innocuous gesture like giving each other a hug. Holding hands is taboo.

In addition, the zoo authorities have placed a group of men who move around looking for couples, warning them and sometimes slapping fines as well.

“At least seven to eight couples have been fined in the last two months,” said Abhay Kumar, director of the Patna zoo.

Youngsters admitted that at present, the zoo remained the safest bet for couples. Couples said other favourite haunts like Kumhrar and Patna Museum have become “too guarded”.

“Restaurants are an option, but we can’t afford them everyday. Besides Patna is still a conservative society where pairs in restaurants draw unwanted stares and attention,” said Neesha.

Spending time in the parks can also prove costly.

Couples recalled that an overzealous police force had roughed up some young boys and girls who were spending some quiet moments at the Shaheed Peer Ali Park in front of the district magistrate’s residence a few months ago.

“It is tough for us. Is holding hands considered obscene behaviour? We really don’t think so. In other cities, couples move around freely and no one even looks at them, forget harassing them. Patna has not grown it seems,” said Sanjay (name changed), a student.

Watching a movie in theatres is the worst, the couples said.

“The crowd pass lewd comments, shout, scream and do whatever they want to. So, a movie is out,” said Sudhir.