Another bustling working day in the national capital was drawing to a close, with the clock barely a few ticks shy of 10.30 pm. The only few feeble strands of light that fell on the fairly dark and desolate stretch outside the Jangpura Metro station at that hour were from the bulbs installed on a ceiling at the entrance.
There was no crowd in the distance, as only a couple of rickshaw pullers and an e-rickshaw driver waited patiently for hires. A lone passenger was seated in the e-rickshaw when out came a woman from the Metro station.
Though initially hesitant to speak to this correspondent, she opened up as she waited for her brother to pick her up. “It is near impossible to find an auto in this area at this hour. I don’t feel safe riding a cycle-rickshaw as several snatching cases have been reported in this area. I reach this place at this time on most days, on my way home. Hence, I make sure to call my brother and ask him to pick me up,” said the woman, who asked not to be quoted.
The reasons for her apprehensions, as it turns out, are not that difficult to comprehend. The Jangpura Metro station, on the Violet line, wears a deserted look after 9 pm. And adding to the eerie, and, dare one say, the unsafe ambience is the fact that the stretch is pitch dark at that hour with only a few fleeting rays from the dull bulbs at the station’s entrance offering anything in the way of illumination.
This correspondent stood outside the gate for nearly half-an-hour just to get a sense of what women commuters go through every day.
Three more women strolled out of the station as this correspondent waited. While they refused to speak, all had a member from their families coming to escort them home.
This correspondent willed herself to visit some more Metro stations after 9.30pm.
On reaching the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium station, which follows Jangpura on the Violet line, this correspondent found that while none of the exit gates had a streetlight, the lanes evoked a spooky feel as there was not a soul around.
Two men came out of one of the exit gates and advised this correspondent to leave as it “was not safe for women” at that hour. On reaching the Yamuna Bank Metro station, a critical junction in the city’s rapid transport service which remains crowded for the better part of the day, this correspondent was greeted by sights and scenes which presented a complete contrast to the daytime scenario.
Outside the main exit gate, where there are no residential buildings or commercial establishments within a walking distance, the thought of navigating the dark, empty lanes is enough to send a shiver down one’s spine. Similarly, the Mayur Vihar Phase I and Mayur Vihar Extension stations, which are abuzz with the gaggle of passengers during rush hours, fall deathly silent after 9 pm. Several women have reported incidents of snatching in the dark lanes.
Pramila Devi, who has been residing in nearby Pandav Nagar for the last 10 years, said though she knows the homeward route from the twin Metro stations like the back of her hand, she doesn’t take needless risks in the wake of the snatching incidents. “I have been witness to some chain and handbag snatching incidents in the Pandav Nagar area, where I have been residing for a decade now. Though the route (from Mayur Vihar Phase I and Mayur Vihar Extension stations to my residence) is familiar to me, I have to exercise more caution now while heading home.
Such incidents have been happening with an alarming frequency outside the Metro gate. However, since there’s no alternative route, I have to take this stretch every day despite the risks involved,” she said.
Two stations that this correspondent visited on the Yellow line wore a similarly desolate look. Although located on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road stretch, the exit gates outside Ghitorni and Sultanpur stations don’t have enough functional streetlights. A stretch from Sultanpur Metro stations towards Ghitorni was especially dark when this correspondent checked in. The only sliver of illumination on the street was from shops that were yet to down shutters.
Ghitorni, too, evoked a similar feel, as there wasn’t a single functional streetlight on one side of the exit from the Metro gate. Megha Sharma, who works at a private firm in Gurugram, opened up as she waited at the exit gate of Ghitorni station. She said she felt extremely scared to step out of the safe confines of the Metro station till someone from the family came to get her home. “It’s only by the grace of God that I haven’t faced any unwanted situation so far. The government needs to wake up to reality and take steps to ensure the safety of women riders,” she said.
Last year, Bhavya Singh, a city-based architect, through a petition filed through change.org, an online platform, pushed for lighting up dark spots within a kilometre’s radius of all Metro stations.
In response, the state PWD minister said last year that government will commission a fresh survey for lighting, with special focus on dark spots around Metro stations.
“I was harassed by a group of men at a dark spot right outside the Nehru Place metro station. I realised a lot of women would have gone through what I did. The realization spurred me on to file the petition. I reached out to officials of the department to check if there had been any progress on the issue that I had raised. However, there was no response,” Sharma said.
Kalpana Vishwanath, co-founder, Safetipin, said, “While I can’t say if the city is safe for women, I feel the government and other stakeholders have grown more conscious on the issue of women’s safety. There are more police helplines and last mile connectivity issues are also being discussed. Every department is planning to launch some initiative or the other for women’s safety.”
She noted that the safety audit report will be published by the end of July.
“At some stations, we have deployed personnel on a permanent basis and regular patrolling is done. In stations where we see more cases happening concerning women safety, there we deploy more staff. There’s been a 30 per cent reduction in cases of teasing and molestation in Delhi. I feel areas outside Metro stations are much safer now,” Madhur Verma, DCP, New Delhi district and spokesperson for Delhi Police, told this newspaper.
Safety measures, but are they safe enough?
In September 2018, the Delhi government said it will conduct a safety audit across the national capital. The audit was to be conducted over 8 months by Safetipin, an NGO. The move to conduct the audit was announced after the Delhi cabinet government approved the proposal by the women and child development department.
In 2016, the NGO had conducted a similar safety audit in the capital over a period of four months. The survey identified more than 7,400 dark spots (considered unsafe, especially for women) in the city
Acting on the survey report, the government and the civic bodies claimed to have installed lights in 70 per cent (more than 5,400) dark spots.
Other government agencies, which are stakeholders in undertaking the safety audit survey, include the transport department, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), Public Works Department (PWD) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
Sweta Sen, Commuter
"It was around 11 pm when we' were waiting outside Lajpat Nagar to board an auto-rickshaw. I was with a friend from France. I noticed some men on bikes near the gate. It was then that an auto-rickshaw rolled in and the driver flipped on a green light inside the vehicle, signalling the men to come after us. We climbed into the auto as we were in a rush to head home.
As we started rolling, I sensed that trouble was afoot and dialled 100. When the driver realised we had alerted the police, he turned off the light and the bikers, who were tailing us, vanished"
Shreya Das, Commuter
"I used to get off at Dwarka Sector 12 Metro station between 8 and 9 pm on some days, as I felt that walking home from the station, which takes about 15-20 minutes, would help me stay in shape. However, I had to give up on that habit, as some random cabs started tailing me on dimly-lit roads almost every night. Taking a rickshaw seemed to be the wiser thing to do. However, even the rickshaw-pullers are mostly drunk at that hour and some even abuse and haggle over money. So, apart from some days when I call someone in my family to come and pick me up, I have little option but to find a rickshaw-puller who looks the least drunk"
Archita Bharadwaj, Commuter
"This was sometime in the month of February. I had got down at Kailash Colony Metro station around 9 pm, as it’s the nearest to the Sant Nagar area where I have been residing over the last six years. I didn’t take a rickshaw as I wanted to walk all the way home. The stretch from the Metro station to a crossing where the National Heart Institute is situated has some dark spots. I sensed two men following me in a car. I was scared but tried not to show it. I tried calling two friends but they didn’t pick up. I turned back to see the car still tailing me. I started walking faster and finally reached a spot where there were sufficient lights. It was then that the car vanished"