Women wary of using Gurgaon expressway’s dimly lit subways
WOMEN COMMUTERS SAID THAT THE SUBWAYS NEAR GURGAON EWAY ARE UNSAFE AT NIGHT AS THEY ARE NOT PROPERLY LIT AND MANNED BY THE POLICE
GURGAON: Women commuters returning late at night said they feel unsafe using the city’s subways, as they are dimly lit and criminals pr owl such spaces after sundown. They said that the subways on the G ur ga on express way are dark and suffer from lack of maintenance by the authorities.
There are three subways on the expressway, including the defunct Sirhaul toll plaza connecting Udyog Vihar to another side of the road towards G ur ga on. Commute rs said that the two subways near Raj iv C ho wk and Hero Honda Chowk also leave a lot to be desired in terms of safety.
Women commuters said that with the subways poorly lit and unsafe, they have no option but to cross the expressway and are forced to take a longer route either towards Delhi and take a U-turn below the flyover from Rajokri, Delhi to return to Gurgaon.
The only other option is shared cabs, which, according to women commute rs, aren’ t a safe bet after sundown.
They claimed there are frequent incidents of eve-teasing in shared cabs and most go unreported.
Women said that the sub ways are not managed and maintained by the authorities and they are left with no option but to cross the road to avoid the subway near the Sir haul toll plaza, t ow ardsUdyog Vihar.
“The subways are dimly lit, poorly maintained and almost always unmanned. It not safe to use them after sundown. Drunk men often pr owl the subway sand never miss achance topasslewd comments at women,” Sunita Mishra, an employee of a firm in Udyog Vihar who commutes to work from DLF Phase 3, said.
“The subways are never cleaned. Over the last one year, I haven’ t seen anyone cleaning the subway (near the Sirhaul toll). It is difficult to navigate the subway due to the unbearable stench from the garbage that the space is littered with. Men often relieve themselves inside subways and despite being aware that women use such spaces, they don’ t me nd their ways,” Usha Kumari, an employee at an export firm, said.
“I still remember how two men in a drunken state followed me and my colleague till Rajokri. I had to call my husband to pick us up, as they kept on passing lewd comments at us ,” Ge et aK au shik, a daily commuter and a resident of Rajokri Airforce station, said.
Many women said they were at the receiving end of similar incidents while using subways on their way home from work during late evenings and added that many such incidents are not reported to the police.
A Gurgaon police official said the area comes within the jurisdiction ofKap asher a, Delhi and a PC R van is deployed there at most times.
However, he said that in light of safety concerns, they will arrange a PCR van from the Udyog Vihar police station to patrol such spaces at night.
“Our team is deployed on the stretch and even women personnel are posted. Regular pat rolling is done as well. We will also deploy a team at subways to check hooligans and miscreants. Should a woman face harassment while walking on the subway, they should get in touch with us without delay. We’ ll take prompt action ,” Ar jun Dev, station house officer, Udyog Vihar police station, said.
Ashok Kumar S harm a, project director, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), said, “We will get the subways inspected on Monday and ensure they are cleaned and well maintained.”