CHENNAI: Women’s safety is top priority, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his re-election earlier in May this year. But the Tamil Nadu government seems to have failed women in ensuring their safety. One of the basic facilities that can enhance the safety of women are streetlights, which are missing in many parts of the city.
The full stretch between Siruseri and Kelambakkam where thousands of IT employees work and reside plunges into darkness, after sunset, putting women and the lives of motorists at risk. “People working in the IT field have different shifts and are bound to travel at night. The Kazhipattur and Egatoor junctions are extremely unsafe during the night because of speeding vehicles coming from all directions,” said J Sabrina, a resident of Kelambakkam.
Varnamala, an IT employee said, “Even our office cab drivers hesitate to drop us back because of the poor condition of roads and how unsafe the localities are due to poor illumination. There have been cases of miscreants stopping the driver on his way back to the office and extorting money from him.”
“Tipplers grope pedestrians and rob them. Complaints to the police have gone unheard. Even if they patrol during the night, the only solution can be installation of street lights,” she added.
Adding to their woes is the large population of stray cattle in the area that sits right in the middle of the dark roads. “I met with a major accident six months back while returning to Kelambakkam from Siruseri. I rammed into a herd and suffered head injuries. The public too hesitate to stop and help the victim because the locality looks eerie,” said R Narayanan, another IT employee.
With schools located in the area, children have also met with accidents while driving the cycles. Narayanan said though the school where his son studies is located only 500 metres away, he prefers dropping him because of the unsafe infrastructure. The concerned officials could not be contacted for their comment on the issue.