Women commuters at risk on Trichy Road

Coimbatore: A week ago, all the street lights on a 3km stretch on Trichy Road were removed to carry out the Sungam to Ramanathapuram flyover work, putting the safety of women commuters at risk as it turns dark.
There are 15 bus stops between Sowripalayam Pirivu and Sundaresan layout where the flyover construction work is being carried out. Commuters now prefer taking autos because of the risk involved in waiting in the dark for buses.
“It turns pitch dark after seven in the evening and there would be no light other than the headlights of the moving vehicles and light from shops. Even that goes off after nine, leaving the commuters in danger,” R Pandi, a street vendor, said.
Customers of roadside eateries on the stretch use mobile torch to have their dinner. The removal of street lights has affected business of vendors, Pandi said.
“How could we wait in the pitch dark when the public movement is negligible and when we keeping hearing news about chain snatchings, harassment and murder daily? I don’t want take risk in the light of recent sexual assault cases in the region,” S Sumathi, a commuter who takes bus around 10pm after the shop she works is closed, said.
“The frequency of bus in the night is less, forcing us to wait for more time than we used to be during day time. Also, most of the buses do not stop unless we signal them to stop as they wouldn’t be able to see us waiting under the shelter,” she said. She had been taking auto at least till Gandhipuram from where she takes a bus to her area.
Auto driver Vasanth Kumar said the stretch would be illuminated at four junctions because of the street lights from adjacent lanes but that is not sufficient.
He urged the corporation officials to find an alternative solution as it is impossible to reinstall the street lights till the completion of flyover construction work.
When contacted, a senior official of the corporation said they have already decided to install street lights at both sides of the road. We have commenced the ground work and it would be completed at the earliest, he added.