The sprawling ground of the Government Tagore Arts College located on Airport Road in Lawspet has turned into a haven for tipplers after dusk.
The playground is strewn with liquor bottles on all sides and has become a constant irritant for residents in the nearby locality.
Several senior citizens in Lawspet use the playground for their daily morning walk and students from the Kanchi Mamunivar Centre for Postgraduate Studies, Community College and other schools use the spacious ground, which has good seating arrangements and proper lighting. According to a resident, “the locals live in constant fear as tipplers and anti-socials create ruckus after dusk. Though repeated representations have been made to the college authorities to regulate the entry of people after night, it has failed to evoke any response,” he said.
“With bars in the city closing down at 11 p.m., tipplers have made the ground and the helipad located nearby as the new drinking spots. Though the Lawspet police station is at a stone’s throw away distance from the ground, they do not conduct regular patrolling,” said another resident.
Though the ground has two gates, it has no security personnel guarding the premises. The compound wall is also damaged at several places, which tipplers use to enter the ground after night. It has now become a regular duty for the locals to remove liquor bottles and food waste strewn around the ground.
The Lawspet helipad has also become a haven for tipplers and regular patrolling by beat officers alone can control the menace, said another resident.