In one fortnight, half-a-dozen bikes and bicycles went missing from the narrow Station Border Road along the Nungambakkam railway station.
According to police, these vehicles were parked illegally on ths stretch.
Many motorcycles were parked for several hours and the thieves stole some of these vehicles under the pretext of repairing them. They had carried out the theft after carefully watching the movement of their owners. Many of the stolen bicycles had been lying on the stretch unattended for months, and the thieves took them away by simply breaking their locks.
“Due to lack of space to park vehicles at the railway station, commuters park them on the stretch,” says V. Satish, a commuter from Choolaimedu.
As parking of vehicles on the 30-feet-wide-Station Border Road is illegal, police say those who park their vehicles have to take the blame for blamed for their vehicles getting stolen.
Despite regular raids by the traffic wing of the city police to clear the bikes parked on the stretch, commuters and local traders continue to park their vehicles on both sides of the stretch, assuming that their vehicles will not get stolen due to continuous movement of motorists and pedestrians on the stretch.
Residents of Sowrashtra Nagar, all of whose six streets connect to Station Border Road, say that such illegal parking not only reduces the road space but also poses a risk to walkers, especially women, as these vehicles attract miscreants.
Though the local police personnel patrol the stretch, especially near the railway station, the rest of the stretch is left unguarded, raising the risk of crime in the neighbourhood.
