On Sunday at around 4.30 p.m., a young woman got down at the Kasturba Nagar MRTS station. When she reached the first floor, a miscreant there harassed her and fled. Even though the girl shouted out, it was in vain as the station was deserted.
Though the city is said to be one of the safest for women in the country, the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), an integral part of Chennai’s transport network, seems to counter the city’s reputation. Despite repeated complaints from women commuters, several stations continue to harbour miscreants, especially during non-peak hours, as well as on holidays.
There are 17 MRTS stations in the city, but safety takes a back seat in most of them. Commuters say the Mylapore station is the safest as there is a Railway Protection Force (RPF) outpost there. “Station masters are there only at Mylapore and Chepauk. Stations like Greenways Road, Light House, Triplicane, Kotturpuram and Kasturba Nagar are unsafe,” said a commuter.
Police personnel usually patrol most stations’ second levels, where the tracks are, only during peak hours. During non-peak hours, the first and second levels are deserted. “There should be more patrolling during non-peak hours. These days, women have started travelling in groups due to the lack of safety in the stations,” said Gomathi Gunalan, a housemaid who travels from Mylapore to Kotturpuram for work every day.
“The lighting on the road to the Light House MRTS station is abysmal. Every evening, one can see husbands waiting to pick up their wives. Only one police officer is posted at the station,” said S. Mythili Kripakaran, a resident of Triplicane who commutes to Chennai Fort Station daily for work.
According to sources, crimes such as drug peddling too take place in the stations. “Chain snatching is not a major issue in these stations. But they become hubs of anti-social activities, as miscreants hide inside the stations before they close. Then they create havoc. Being alone, the policemen do not dare go in and check,” said the source.
Officers of the RPF said the main problem was the size of these stations. “There are multiple exit and entry points,” said an officer. He said that despite this, the crime rate in these stations had come down by 50 per cent. “Patrolling is done on a regular basis. Once the stations are closed, the officers go by road and keep a check on them,” said the officer
Keywords: MRTS, safety, transporat network, women commuters, crime
I think Mr. Mani R's idea given above (July 3rd, 9:50IST) is brilliant and should be taken up seriously by the authorities.
The standard of our culture has eroded. Policing all the places are not possible. People are
uneducated and even so called educated are qualitatively poor in their public behavior.
Parents and more often good friends have a say in developing good behavior
of people in public life.
Best option is to implement closed circuit cameras and watch these stations from remote locations, this will help coordinate policemen to immediately go to areas where suspects are seen hiding. These are effective and may work at cheaper on long run. Even if a crime is committed, the criminals can be caught and punished with the help of the cameras.
@MSR - I think using MRTS as feeder network for Metro is part of the plan though I am not sure if this means they will be under the same management. In any case, if the CM decides to go ahead with the Monorail, the city transit infrastructure plans are going to be messed up anyway.
Government spends lot of unwanted money why not more polices or CCTV in
stations
Size of these stations need not be a problem at all. They need to install security cameras in all the stations and do active monitoring. Cant this be done?
More lighting and security cameras. This is required not just for the station, but for all public places. When procurement is done on a large scale the prices will drop dramatically. The use of such a system will be amazing.
Why not bring the MRTS network as well under the Chennai Metro network and have this infrastructure used better under the Chennai Metro corporation? I think this already abysmal use of MRTS infrastructure can improve with this linked to the Metro and can provide better connectivity all round. My 2 cents.
One main reason for this issue is sure the size of these stations. Unnecessarily huge amount of funds has been invested in the infrastructure of these stations.
But, I believe that this is the right place for the young policemen to get trained. If the cops are scared of the criminals, then, how an ordinary man could live in this country?
Most of MRTS stations compared to upcoming Chennai Metro railway are
massively constructed buildings which can house a number of
government and private offices when realestate prices are spiralling
along these MRTS stations.If these is done a number of problems
including safety will be solved.
-ManiR
MRTS is a great project with dedicated lines to cover the various parts of the city. Authorities must take adequate precaution to make it safe and also make it popular, for in the presence of greater number of commuters , the stalls in the station can be opened and once that is done, the issue of isolation and lack of safety can be done away.This will also be a source of revenue generation
There is no 'safe' reputation to dent in the first place. Chennai cannot be called a safe place, with or without the MRTS stations issue. At most we can say it is safer than Delhi, but that's not saying much, is it?
No - the sensible thing to do for citizens, especially womenfolk, is to be constantly alert and avoid lonely places and dark alleys. Go in groups and preferably with a male colleague/ relative in tow. Better safe than sorry should be the motto.
The MRTS stations are large with no purpose. The stations along ECR stretch for
more than 200 meters. It is a "blop" of concrete with no purpose. Looks like the
contractor wanted to bid higher by building a large station. When you have a large
station with no purpose, miscreants will settle in.
The station is meant for getting in and out of trains and nothing more. These are fast
city commenting so people using these are people getting to work or business.
These are not long haul trains where people need other facilities like food, resting
area, waiting area. One can see efficient and open space stations in Singapore MRT.
They transport more people than MRTS and have a small, functional stations which
are open and bright. It is visible to people on the street, people using it. The answer
is not more protection thru police force. The answer is proper design of the stations.
Let us learn the lessons and not make "ghost" buildings like on ECR
It's such a waste of Govt resources .... All these stations are in prime locations. Atleast they can rent some space out to shops and vendors.
All these stations with so much of space is left unused. What a waste of money.
The incidents are happening regularly even then complaints made
frequently. Since, most of the MRTS stations are far away from main
area the security needs to be tightened to ensure passengers safety.
The entry and exit points of the MRTS stations need to be reviewed and
regulated. It seems patrolling is not happening properly even then it
is being done on a regular basis. Hence on behalf of public, I request
Southern Railway management to instruct RPF and Railway Police to
ensure public safety and security by doing their duties and
responsibilities as expected.
No. In most railway stations i find baricades put up and most vacant
space are not utilised and crowded. Just they put baricade and take
rest, remove baricades and improve patrolling,
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