A nightmare on the secluded street

Dark Stretch

One would imagine that a road where the Aeronautical Development Establishment is located would be safe for the people living in and around. But the entire Suranjan Das Road (CV Raman Nagar) that stretches from the end of New Thippasandra Main Road to Old Madras Road continues to be in a constant state of chaos.

The lack of lights, footpaths, police patrolling and public transport makes it a dangerous stretch. Add to that the construction work going on every few metres and matters only become worse. 

According to police constable Nanje Gowda VK, who mans the Old Madras Road signal, these problems have remained unsolved for over three years. 

“A major problem is the condition of the roads — there’s an urgent need for them to be tarred and cemented properly. The streetlights are another nuisance and many of them are broken or don’t work. Many patches don’t have any light and the ones that are there are quite dim. More than anything, this makes it very unsafe for women,” he says.

Traffic constable Shivakumar HG adds that there haven’t been any incidents or complaints but the road has always been known to be unsafe.

 “It’s the government’s job to fix this but there are also many big companies near HAL and BEML that should invest in improving the road,” he opines, adding that traffic is also slower than it should be because of the narrow roads. 

Alongside the traffic problem, there’s also the fact that there’s hardly any public transport available from the BEML junction till Old Madras Road. 

“It’s anyway difficult to walk on these roads because of the construction work taking place on both sides. The pedestrian is forced to use the main road and if they’re looking for a bus or auto, there’s little or no chance that they’ll get lucky. If they do, they’ll be overcharged for certain. The ‘development work’ has been going on for years but nothing is ever completed,” says Ravi, a driver in a building there. 

   He adds, “The rowdies in this area are notorious and make it very unsafe for women. No theft or vandalism happens but there’s always tension in the air. There’s also a lot of garbage and construction waste dumped around that needs to be cleared up.”

Yuvarani, who works nearby, confirms this fear. She says, “I regularly walk through this road and what I hate most are the dark patches. Authorities should really fix the streetlights and add many more than there are. I’ve had men asking me to come with them.  Many pass lewd comments whenever women walk by.

The auto drivers also misbehave and never go by meter around here. I’ve also come across snakes on the road, which is probably because of all the digging work going on.”

What makes it even dicier is that the road is frequented by students. Sankalp, a ninth-grader of Oxford English High School in New Thippasandra, says that the footpath is urgently needed to avoid accidents. “I use this route everyday to go home from school. It’s dangerous for anyone, not just students,” he notes.

However, Bharath and Vinuth, students of RBANMS High School and Sree Cauvery School respectively, say that it doesn’t feel dangerous anymore. “Most of the other kids go back on their cycles or by the bus but you get used to walking down this road. It has its dangers but you just have to be careful,” they say.