Mangalore: Women housed in the many PG hostels that dot the Nanthur Pumpwell highway are scared to go home after sundown, because the road has no streetlights and is pitch dark. Unfortunately they have no choice. Their pleas to all concerned to rectify the situation have fallen on deaf and callous ears.
The stretch from the Padua College to Pumpwell houses many women’s hostels, both for those who are working and students, and they are often easy prey for unscrupulous eve teasers and molesters who populate the road, because of the cover that the darkness and the tall bushes provide. Ironically hoardings in the area are fully lit up, even as the street is enveloped in darkness.
Ultimately, the pedestrians are forced to depend on the vehicle headlights to navigate the road home.
Speaking to Newskarnataka, a young woman paying guest resident on the road, said, “We keep our head down, be quiet and ignore the lewd comments and stares of men- this is what we do every day. How long we will do that ? Where are the officials who promise many things and safety for women? If this is the case we will protest in front of DC office. We are not asking gold or money instead install streetlight in this particular road, so that we walk with courage. Our parents are scared and wait for our return”.
The road is also home to many shanties that house migrant construction and other labour. Their men folk are often found loitering around the road, passing vulgar comments on womanhood, and singing lewd songs, as they sight women walking home to their hostels in the darkness. Drivers of goods lorries passing through to Pumpwell too indulge in name calling and obscene actions as they drive through the road.
Women face a genuine life risk as the sides of the road are covered with tall grass and bushes that have sprung up during the monsoon, and there is no saying when unscrupulous men may spring up out of the bushes to rob and molest unsuspecting women as they walk home after a hard days work or study. In fact the bushes are used for urination too.
A working lady from the same area said, “We know that the Corporator stays nearby. We are victims of all harassments from last many years. But there is no action taken in this regard. Late night when we return from work, it is also very difficult to cross the road. Because there are no street lights especially in front of Shanti Kiran. From Nanthur circle to Pumpwell, girls walk with fear because it’s too interior a place and anything can happen at any time.”
It’s also unsafe from the point of view of terrain. The terrain is uneven, there are no marked footpaths, and since it is a busy road, vehicles often, either deliberately or accidentally come close to the edge of the road. Street lights and dedicated footpaths would have helped to navigate the road safely.
A lady from Premnagar said “At night when I return from work, it’s very difficult to cross the road. There are no streetlights. I use the torch in my mobile to reach my house. My daughter goes for tuition, while coming back she comes in an auto fearing something would happen to her because of these problems. If this is the case, how we women and children walk around? How long we can wait? I think officials are busy beautifying the city, instead of solving these issues”, she angrily said.
A woman’s woe does not end here. Law enforcement personnel, mandated to protect and guide too, do not spare the women. A lady from the same area said that “Even the traffic police here at the Nanthur circle gives us dirty looks. The place is very unsafe it reminds of other interior places where girls are just molested and thrown out. We request the officials to take note of this and soon act in this regard.”
It does not take a lot of money to set things right. It takes concern for people, something our politicians and public servants always claim to have. It also requires will and enforcement of accountability which seem totally absent, lambasted another woman.
Earlier, the MCC arranged for grass cutting in the midst of the monsoon, but the work was not supervised or monitored and most of the grass remains as is or has become even worse, with unseasonal rains drenching Mangalore.
Corporator Keshav answering Newskarnataka’s queries on the subject was defensive. “ I have already complained to the Mayor and the street light engineer in charge, Yeswanth Kamath, a month ago. Women had complained about the issue earlier. Soon action will be taken in this regard”, he said. While asked why the bushes were not cut in some places, he said that he himself was present there. “But the machine stopped working so the work is temporarily halted”.
Mayor Mahabala Marla said, “I will look into it”.
There is no doubt, that this particular stretch of road is unsafe for women on all counts – darkness, unevenness of terrain, tall bushes that can house predators and lack of footpaths. A woman can only walk down this road with fear in her heart and braveness on her face, for she has little or no choice. The only choices she has when confronted with lewd behaviour are – retaliate and make it clear that it is unacceptable, or avoid using the road whenever possible. However, neither is always possible.
