Prostitution rife in residential area

Residents who live in Aintree, Mysore and Karupana Roads in Northdale, are becoming increasingly anxious about the rise in prostitution and criminal activities taking place in a vacant plot in the area.

These streets are home to two schools, one being Woodlands Secondary (Mysore Road), and the vacant land that separates the educational institutions has become a haven for prostitutes, vagrants and criminals.

The prostitutes ply their trade at all hours and in full view of residents and learners, while the vagrants engage in criminal activities, mainly robbing learners and passers-by of their cell phones, cash and other valuables.

Residents of Aintree Road said that they are most concerned about the learners who are being exposed to the immoral behaviour of the prostitutes and their clients.

The residents say that they have a clear view of what takes place on a daily basis and it sets a bad example for both primary school and the high school learners.

Residents, who did not want to be named because of safety reasons, said that the prostitutes come out when the siren sounds for the end of the school day.

“Primary school learners have to witness this. Some of the prostitutes look like they could be in high school. What kind of example is that?” they asked.

They said that the vagrants can be seen walking around with all kinds of stolen items.

“We have seen them walking around with Ottomans. They actually have a couch in the bush where they lounge during the day,” they said.

Learners who walk to school have also become targets [for their cellphones and cash] before and after school. The residents added that the principals must upgrade their security for the learners and that the municipality must cut the grass to deter prostitution and crime.

“We witnessed a girl whose phone was snatched out of her hand. Once they steal your phone, they run away through pathways, passing the phone around making it harder to track the culprit,” said a resident.

For residents of Karupana Road, there is restricted access at the back of Woodlands Secondary. The school has also erected solid fencing that starts at the edge of the river bank.

While residents behind the school are not directly affected by the prostitution, they are aware of the activities taking place in the vicinity.

Amichand Suguday and his wife, who have lived in Karupana Road for 43 years, said something needs to be done about the pathway behind his house.

“The vagrants jump over the wall and we live next to two empty houses. Items from the backyards have already been stolen. I've employed somebody to cut the grass at the back so that we can see what’s going on at night,” Suguday said.

Yasseen Sayed said that the vagrants are coming into their properties and steal in broad daylight.

“They stole the grinding machine and green mesh from the yard. They broke into a house on our road and stole a dog. They then came back two days later and stole spanners," he said.

Sayed said the pathway behind their road needs to be closed off. Even though the school has closed off access, some vagrants still force their way past the school and walk through the pathway.

Woodlands Secondary School, School Governing Body chairperson Shenaz Singh, said they know who the land belongs to and the school has approached the owner many times to clean up the vacant land.

"We have approached them many times. We could even make use of that land as a school if it was maintained regularly," said Singh.

Singh said during the day the learners are exposed to everything that happens there. The learners switch classes and see everything.

“We even have video footage of indecent activity taking place in the bush during school time,” said Singh.