There have been enough incidences in this country which highlight how we are offensive to the expression of love. With Valentines’ day around the corner, a lot of people are making plans to meet their loved one and spend some time with them. But if you are in Coimbatore, you will need to show a marriage certificate to enter the public park near Tamil Nadu Agricultural University! In what can be termed as a weird violation of privacy, this Botanical public park space demands a marriage certificate for couples to enter inside. If you are an unmarried couple, you will be shooed away!

The park is adjacent to the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and has many college students coming in. The security officials at this park have been given strict orders to not allow any unmarried couple inside. At the entrance, a register is maintained and every person has to give their personal details- name, address and phone number. They have also put up a signboard which asks visitors to ‘maintain dignity’ or they will face severe action. But such a kind of restriction is completely illegal.

M Kannan, a professor at the university was quoted in a news report, “Fed-up with the couples using the park as their hiding and recreation area, the university has come up with this rule. We initially tried to put up rules and regulations such as seeking their ID proofs and asking details such as phone numbers.” The university had received complaints from locals about the park turning into a couple’s hideout spot. This move has been designed specifically to stop couples from entering the park premises. A report in The News Minute states that a staff member does not allow even the boys and girls who come alone to go inside.

However, this doesn’t seem like an effective way to deal with a problem. What the university could have probably done is make the students aware of the kind of behavior that turns problematic. At a time when we look towards developing a modern society, what example does it put forth by restricting your right to visit a place? We need to deal with changing mindsets than changing the rules of entering a public space. And what can we say, just be careful this Valentines' day!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2018 04:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).