The platform at Dwarka Sector 21 metro station looked as desolate as the train that pulled into it during the evening rush hour. The crowds of commuters jostling to get in and out of the metro had long disappeared.
Alighting at the deserted, dusty platform from an equally empty carriage, Megha Tiwari, an auditor, narrated a snatching incident when her mother-in-law watched in horror as two men on a motorbike sped away with her gold chain. “We cannot wear gold jewellery around Dwarka anymore,” she said, clutching her purse tighter.
Dark roads
The scene at Dwarka Sector 21 metro station confirmed Ms. Tiwari’s description: women walking towards the exit with bowed heads, only to be greeted by poorly lit road and haphazardly parked autorickshaws, their drivers screaming offers for rides.
Aanchal Mehta, a marketing manager, looked over her shoulder several times and said, “The autorickshaw drivers and vendors here look at you in a manner that makes you feel uncomfortable.”
Moving further away from the area where the autos and cycle rickshaws were parked, she said, “The roads here are very dark and unsafe.”
Under barely functioning street lamps, Sector 21 metro station’s empty side road is flanked by uncontrolled shrubbery peeking through rusted barbed wires where some commuters disappear from sight, into the darkness, in seconds.
“The station is well-lit but I cannot speak for the service lane outside because it is not under our jurisdiction. It is dark, so I cannot say it is safe,” said a metro official.
The situation at Dwarka Sector 11 is no different. The road outside the station is dark and lined with vehicles waiting for passengers.
Yashovardhan Upadhyay, a resident of the area, complained, “I too feel unsafe here as there are no lights.”
Pointing to groups of men lounging in autorickshaws near the pavement and standing in a dark corner, playing music on a smartphone, he said, “I am afraid of being mugged.”
Drunk bikers
Several station staff admitted that female commuters have complained about being harassed by men loitering outside the station.
Kamlesh Soni, a supervisor of the housekeeping staff, alleged that drunk bikers harass women outside the station.
“Delhi is not safe. A few days ago, a biker hit a five-year-old child while racing with another vehicle. The auto drivers are the same,” said Mr. Soni, even as men on two motorcycles raced laps around the nearby parking lot.
“This area is unsafe because the men loitering around here are always drunk. My sister was eve-teased while she was walking home,” said a resident.
Asked what could help improve the situation, both the commuters and the metro staff agreed that functional street lights, regular police patrolling, and crackdown on drunk troublemakers and eve-teasers will go a long way in instilling confidence in them.
Outside Dwarka Sector 13 station, a few functioning street lights illuminated the road but the sight of pedestrians remained elusive. Dark, under-construction buildings added to the gloom in the area.
A female security personnel posted at Dwarka Sector 11 said the only reason her female colleagues are safe in the vicinity of the station is because they are accompanied by male officers carrying weapons.
“As a uniformed officer, I do not expect much trouble. But as a civilian I understand the dangers here, as I too feel unsafe,” she said in hushed tones.
Tinted windows
Two sedans with tinted windows parked across the street caught her attention; their open doors revealed four to five male occupants in each of them, but none exited the vehicles.
She admitted that she travelled in the women’s compartment even when she was in uniform because she feared being overpowered by groups of unruly and uncouth men.