Residents’ associations bat for more safety measures

Days after the news of the rape of a girl with hearing and speech impairment for seven months by 18 men in the apartment complex, it has shaken the collective conscience of the city. Residents across areas are rethinking the issue of safety and security more seriously.

In T Nagar, a large part of which is residential, the association is mulling over the need for installing CCTV cameras at the earliest. 

VS Jayaraman, a resident of T Nagar’s Mothilal Street and an active member of the T Nagar Resident’s Welfare Association said, “The shocking incident has shown us how insular we have become as a society that we don’t even know what is happening next door. We are planning to send a notice to all residents, asking them to set up more CCTV cameras and to put together a list of steps to ensure more safety.”

In Annai Indira Nagar, a locality in Velachery, residents have called for a meeting this weekend to discuss the methods to strengthen the security system at the locality. 

“We have about 21 streets and more than 800 people living in this locality. 

There are several ladies’ hostels and paying guest accommodations. There is an urgent need to ensure that there is a proper system in place to survey the streets. 

We already have CCTV cameras installed outside a temple in the locality. Even the local police have sought participation among residents. The aspect of safety is our top priority and it will be discussed among other issues in the meeting on Sunday,” said S Kumara Raja, president of Annai Indira Nagar Welfare Association.

For a while now, residents in flat complexes in Adyar have been told to do a thorough police verification of the helps being hired. C Ramakrishnan from the Federation of Adyar Residents’Association (FEDARA) said, “This incident has reinstated the need for the verification. And with most of the house help coming from other states, we don’t know the authenticity of the proof they submit. 

With this incident, there is a serious concern among residents here about the background of the help hired. We are yet again pushing for compulsory police verification.”