Kottayam: Kottayam town these days witnesses one-and-a-half-hour road blocks during peak hours! Those who went to investigate found a person sitting right in the middle of the road in Thirunakkara, nonchalantly eating food.

Just a few days prior, another antisocial element caused a similar block at Pulimood Junction by sitting and eating on the road. When police arrived to apprehend him, he subjected everyone to a volley of abuses. Traders and social workers claim there are 117 such individuals, including him.

Commuters and visitors to the town are constantly plagued by the law and order issues these individuals create. There have been instances where they threatened shopkeepers for money and food, and even attempted to attack commuters. Complaints state they loiter in the town day and night, using obscene gestures and foul language, and generally creating a nuisance. Police also report that these individuals, who have arrived from various parts of the state, are misusing the free food and clothing provided for the genuinely needy in the town.

These drug addicts are also frequently seen brawling among themselves. The menace of these anti-social elements is particularly severe in the jurisdictions of the West and East Police Stations. Police have urged the municipality to intervene and remove these individuals from the town, but so far, no action has been taken.