CHENNAI: Dark side lanes, staircases being used to consume alcohol, stalking and residents’ welfare associations not prioritising the safety of women and children have led to the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board resettlement (TNUHDB) resettlement site in Perumbakkam remaining unsafe for children and women, especially those who return late from work, according to a safety audit by the Information and Resource Centre for Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) on Wednesday.
The TNUHDB resettlement site in Perumbakkam is one of the largest in the state, with over 13,000 families.
The safety report said that the women experience verbal abuse by strangers, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, stalking and continuous knocking on the doors late at night and early morning. With many ‘blind spots’ without CCTV cameras and broken streetlights and no outposts, the design of Old Perumbakkam with its dark, narrow and long alleys makes it easy for individuals to pursue anti-social activities without the fear of getting caught, according to the report. It also listed out ‘red zones’ that are unsafe for women that included the area near the primary healthcare centre and the high school road junction.
“There have been instances of our school-going daughters getting molested. Last week, we heard continuous knocking on our doors at around 1 am and my child and I couldn’t sleep all night in fear. We cannot even leave our children alone at home; if we are forced to, we lock them inside, leaving no way to get out even in case of an emergency,” said a single mother on conditions of anonymity.
“With many of us working in housekeeping, we work in shifts. Those finishing their night shifts come home at around 3 am and others at around 9:30-10 pm. We have been stalked on multiple occasions,” she added. The report recommends the installation of streetlights in the dark spots and increasing CCTV surveillance, to encourage neighbourhood safety committees and sensitisation of officials of the board (TNUHDB) and residents’ welfare associations to their plight.