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| Members of the Aman club in Dumduma on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati |
Bhubaneswar, Oct. 12: Crime rate in the Dumuduma area, once known as the den of criminals, has gone down significantly due to the initiative of the members of a club called Aman. To assist the police, volunteers of the club have been patrolling the area throughout the night for a while now.
Priya Ranjan Satapthy, inspector-in-charge of the nearby Khandagiri police station, said: “They (the volunteers) are doing a fantastic job. The theft rate in the area has come down considerably because of their initiative. People in other parts of the city should follow their example.”
Set up seven years ago, Aman has 150 volunteers from all sections of the society. Many of the active members of the club are people from the minority community.
“We have named our club Aman, which means peace as we believe in spreading the message of peace and harmony. A day before the Ayodhya verdict was announced, we had organised a meeting and urged people to maintain peace. It yielded results,” said Dildar Ali, the secretary of the club.
The club members claimed that the locality had never witnessed any major law and order problem ever since the club came into existence.
“At the slightest hint of trouble, our members rush to the spot and try to settle the matter amicably. There has been no theft in our area in the last two to three years. Every night, our members patrol the streets ensuring that troublemakers remain at bay,” said Ziauddin Khan, president of the club. He runs a mobile and watch repair shop in the Priyadarshini market near CRPF Square.
Police officials admit that Phase II of Dumduma, where the club is located, used to be a crime hotbed till a few years ago. “The area being located on the outskirts of the city, was easy for the criminals from Bhubaneswar and the adjoining regions to operate here.”
The club has also taken up charitable activities. “We even organise blood donation camps and help poor families to get their daughters married. We gave Rs 10,000 each to two such families recently,” said Khan.
