Even as the Thirumayilai MRTS station is expected to get 40 CCTV cameras to enhance security, residents of the locality and commuters say that nothing will improve unless two Tasmac outlets, operating close to the station, are shut down.
The two Tasmac shops are located adjacent to each other on Canal Bank Road in Kapali Thottam, near the Thirumayilai MRTS Railway Station. Every evening, hundreds of people gather here to purchase alcohol and some even consume it standing near the compound wall of the Buckingham Canal.
“It has become a menace here. The tipplers come to the road and some lie down on the stairs and pathway leading to the railway station. Though the Railway Protection Force (RPF) chase them away, they come back again after some time,” says a woman staff member at the station.
Pedestrians say that the path, once free of the tipplers, can be beautified. “Women feel unsafe using this stretch. Drunkards have converted this path into an open urinal and some of them gather on the main road, affecting traffic during peak hours,” said Gomathi Krishnan, a resident of Mylapore.
N. Kumar, a resident of Palaku Managar, said that the Tasmac shops have been here for close to 10 years. “Earlier there was only one, then one Tasmac shop was relocated to this stretch from Ranga Road. Now, a new elite bar has also opened. So now there are three wineshops,” he said. Mr. Kumar said that the residents have been fighting to have these shops shut for a long time. “Nothing has happened. There are frequent quarrels between the tipplers. It is not justified to have three shops on one road,” he said.
R. Natraj, Mylapore MLA, said that he has written to the Tasmac headquarters to shut the shops. “Nothing has happened till date. I will raise the issue in the Assembly again,” he said.
Senior RPF officers said that they ensure that the drunkards do not enter the station. “We will be getting 40 CCTV cameras inside the station premises to enhance security. We also chase away people who get drunk and sleep on the stairs. We will also write to Tasmac to shift the shops,” said an officer.
