picture this you have come to a friends house situated in a gated locality of noida while leaving you find the colonys gate locked surprisingly it is the same gate through which you came in with no security guard in sight you are left to fend for yourself through the maze that is the colony until you finally find the one gate that is open in the entire colony sounds familiar chances are you may have been in a similar situation as several sectors in noida have gated colonies and these unmanned gates remain locked after dark or even throughout the day in some colonies recently the south delhi municipal corporation sdmc officials after a visit to lajpat nagar iii asked the police to find ways to ensure security even if society gates were kept unlocked they further said that locked gates cannot be kept unmanned however in many localities across noida gates are not only locked during the night but also during the day moreover these gates remain unmanned as well in addition to others some of these localities are sector 12 17 22 30 33 51 and 71according to the rules set by the noida authority rwas can erect gates at the periphery of the locality on lanes that open towards the main road every gate shall remain open till at least 10 pm while one gate is supposed to remain open throughout others can be shut after 1030pm the closed gates should have signboards telling which gate should be used to exit and enter also it is mandatory to put the number of all gates along with emergency phone numbers prominently on display the noida authority also states that gates cannot be put inside a locality for instance between two blocks in the same sector this is allowed only if there is a 30m wide road between the two blocksrwas of many sectors in the city however keep some gates shut and unmanned throughout the day this not only creates trouble for residents but visitors as wellwe are not taking a penny from the government we have to maintain securityrwa representatives tell us that the gates are closed in order to maintain security inside the locality we follow the guidelines set by the noida authority it is essential to close some gates to maintain security says rajeev garg vicepresident of federation of noida residents welfare association fonrwa and president of sector 26 rwa sunil wadhwa president of sector 71 rwa refutes allegations that some gates in the locality are closed throughout the day we keep all gates in our locality open during the day time we close two of the gates only after dusk due to security reasons which is perfectly in accordance with the guidelines he saysas an rwa we are doing our best to maintain our locality we are not taking a penny from the government and we have to maintain the security of residents as well how can the authorities question our security