India, Aug. 31 -- Recently, Chandigarh has been waking up to headlines that sound less like news and more like deja vu-batteries stolen from CCTV cameras at busy junctions, break-ins at PGs in Sector 22-C and homes in 37-D, even brazen thefts in bustling neighbourhoods. Thieves seem to be working double shifts, while citizens are left wondering whether the very systems meant to protect them are themselves being picked apart.

And as festive lights and shopping lists brighten our streets, shadows lengthen for those with darker plans. Festivals, ironically, are open season not just for discounts but for burglars too.

Yet theft is more than a police matter. It exposes cracks in how our urban lives are safeguarded-how our cities are designed...