Better roads mean better policing. That's what the office-in-charge of Sukhdeonagar police station, Nawal Kishore Singh, had to say after the foundation stone of a 2km-road was laid in Ranchi on Wednesday.
The road, which will connect Harmu crematorium road with Vidya Nagar, was a long-pending demand of residents. According to Singh, policing in Vidya Nagar, Ganga Nagar, Yamuna Nagar and localities around Harmu Housing Colony would improve a lot once the road was complete.
While Vidya Nagar, Ganga Nagar and Yamuna Nagar is within the jurisdiction of Sukhdeonagar police station, Harmu is under Argora police station.
Urban development minister C.P. Singh laid the foundation of the road. Among the others who were present on the occasion were Ranchi MP Ram Tahal Choudhary, mayor Asha Lakra, local MLA Naveen Jaiswal and local councillor Arun Kumar Jha.
"Due to hundreds of potholes on the existing road, patrolling was always a challenge. Reports of crime often came from those areas. Now, with the foundation stone being laid, we can expect a better road to come up in coming days. If the condition of road improves, police patrolling will also get better," Singh said.
The officer-in-charge of Argora police station, Ratibhan Singh, agreed, saying a good road would help save petrol and thus improve patrolling.
"We are given 225 litres of petrol every month for patrolling. But, because of bad road conditions at Vidya Nagar and Harmu, a lot of fuel is unnecessarily wasted. This makes it difficult for us to patrol all areas right through the month. When road conditions are good, wastage of petrol is less and frequency of patrolling increases," the Argora police station office-in-charge said.
Ranchi Municipal Corporation executive engineer Uma Shanker said the road, having a length of 2km and a width of 14 feet, will cost Rs 1.17 crore and will be completed by the end of this year.
Arun Kumar Jha, the local councillor of Ward No. 37 said, "One kilometre of the road will be constructed from Anand Nagar to Karam Chowk in Vidya Nagar while another kilometre will be from IGNOU office to Tungri Tola Church in Harmu Housing Colony locality".
Vidya Nagar resident Nageena Singh, a retired Jharkhand State Housing Board employee who owns a cowshed in Harmu, welcomed the project. "At 70, it is extremely difficult for me to walk on a potholed road. During monsoon, it's risky to even venture out. I hope the new road is completed within six months," she said.
