Police commissioner RP Sharma at the police-public meet at Old Town on Sunday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, June 1: Residents of Old Town today demanded intensive night patrolling by police and deployment of adequate traffic personnel to manage traffic on the busy Bhubaneswar-Puri national highway. They raised the demand at the police-public meet organised in their area today.

The residents alleged that petty crime was on the rise with some liquor shops remaining open much beyond the stipulated hours.

“Our area is important because of a number of historical monuments, including the Lingaraj Temple and the Dhauli peace pagoda. But, night patrolling is lax most of the times. The police should intensify night patrolling,” said secretary of Gangotri Nagar Development Association S.N. Mohapatra.

Traffic chaos was another issue raised at the meeting. “During peak hours, the national highway remains chock-a-block with vehicles from Rabi Talkies Square to Samantarapur. A number of accidents have taken place on this stretch in the last few months. Deployment of adequate number of traffic personnel at important junctions is the need of the hour,” said Mahesh Das, another resident.

Crime figures obtained from the local police station reveal that crime graph is on the rise. While 183 cases were registered under Lingaraj police station in 2011, the figure went up to 201 in 2012. The police station had registered 237 cases last year and the number of cases registered as of April this year stood at 90.

Local residents said that cases of snatching and burglary still remained a major concern.

The residents also demanded that the police should keep a database of people living on rent in their area. “A number of criminals are taking shelter in the area. They vanish from the area after committing crime,” said another resident.

However, police commissioner R.P. Sharma said that steps would be initiated to address the grievances of local residents. “We will involve the local residents for better policing. Besides steps would be initiated to mitigate traffic problems,” added Sharma.

The police have been conducting a number of public meetings to involve the local residents in community policing. Such meetings have earlier been conducted in areas such as Laxmisagar, Chandrasekharpur, Mancheswar and Jatani.